Tom B Hunter
Tom Hunter is the former owner of Sports Division, which he sold to JJB Sports in 1998 for £290 million, making £252 million personally on the deal (he also owns 7% of JJB). He is Chairman of Blane Leisure (his salary is £380,000) and TBH Holdings. He owns a 6% stake in Rangers football club. He gave £100,000 to the Labour Party in 2001. He drives a Bentley worth £200,000 and his personal wealth is estimated at £320 million.
Tom Hunter is the Vice-Chair of the Entrepreneurial Exchange and gave £5 million to the University of Strathclyde to set up the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship in January 2000. He is a friend of Lord Gus Macdonald, the Transport Minister. Tom Hunter owns the Fosters clothing chain (now called D2) and has a stake in the Ultimo bra company and Newco (which owns BHS). He sold a software company, Reality Group, to Great Universal Stores in 1999 for £35 million (making £7 million for himself).
Background
Having graduated from the Business School of the University of Strathclyde, he began his career by selling trainers from the back of a van, and in 1984 he founded the Sports Division chain of sports shops. He built it up into a leading retailer, and in 1998 he sold the chain to JJB Sports, making him over £250 million.
Along with his wife Marion, Hunter established The Hunter Foundation in 1998, which has donated millions to supporting educational and entrepreneurial projects in Scotland.
In March 2001, Hunter was a founding partner of West Coast Capital, an investment firm. Through this firm he has become a major shareholder in a number of retailers including USC, Office, D2 and Qube. One of his most significant shareholdings is in BHS, of which he owns approximately 8%. Philip Green owns the rest of the business.
Substantial investments in commercial property, shopping centres and licensed premises also contribute to his extensive portfolio.
Hunter was listed on the Sunday Times Rich List 2005 as the 2nd richest man in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £678m. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, he was ranked as the richest man in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £780m.
In 2005 Hunter received a Knighthood for "services to Philanthropy and to Entrepreneurship in Scotland".
Hunter has been a major supporter of Band Aid, donating over £6m to the appeal. The Hunter Foundation has provided £1m to support the Make Poverty History campaign, supported the Live 8 concerts. On 17 November 2006, he donated £1 million to the 2006 BBC Children in Need charity appeal telethon, via the Hunter Foundation. On 16 March 2007 he donated £1 million to the 2007 BBC Comic Relief charity appeal, via the Hunter Foundation, to match the £1 million raised during Comic Relief Does The Apprentice.
Hunter's views
- Tom B. Hunter, a Scotsman who owns 5% of BHS, says Green's critics are simply green with envy. "The fact of the matter is, he can be very abrasive," says Hunter. "There's also a lot of jealousy with people who earn that sort of money." [1]
Affiliations
