Sir Thomas Blane Hunter (born 6 May 1961) is a Scottish businessman and philanthropist.

Sports Division

Hunter set up his first business after graduating from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

as he was, in his own words, "unemployable". With a £5,000 loan from his

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

father Campbell and

matching funds Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used inter ...

from a bank, he started selling trainers from the back of a van. Hunter built the business into Europe's largest independent retailer. In 1998 in an unsolicited offer, Dave Whelan's

JJB Sports JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...

offered to buy the larger Sports Division for £290 million; Hunter accepted, earning himself £252 million.

Other business activities

Hunter had expanded Sports Division through financing supplied by the Royal Bank of Scotland, but when he proposed the takeover of Olympus Sports, RBS refused to finance the deal. Through his friend Sir David Murray, he met Halifax Bank of Scotland governor Gavin Masterton on a trip to watch

Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers, though this has never been i ...

play

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, and subsequently built his business on the HBoS relationship. Senior lending manager Peter Cummings introduced Hunter to

property development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to oth ...

, which resulted in his purchase of stakes in builder

Crest Nicholson Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Weybridge, Surrey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1963-2000 The company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Hom ...

, and retirement homebuilder McCarthy & Stone. In 2001 Cummings introduced Hunter to fellow HBoS client

Nick Leslau Nick Leslau (born 18 August 1959) is an English commercial property investor, with an estimated net worth of £400 million. Leslau is chairman and chief executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings Limited, and chairman of Prestbury Investm ...

, which led to the purchase of stakes via Leslau's Prestbury Investment Holdings in the freehold property portfolios of

Travelodge Travelodge or Travelodge by Wyndham (formerly branded ''TraveLodge'') refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and several co ...

hotels, licensed premises; and the

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

portfolio of

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was ...

, including

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...

. In August 2013, Hunter put up a huge cash loan that enabled his friend David Moulsdale, founder of Optical Express eye surgery clinics, to save his company from closure after the Royal Bank of Scotland threatened to seize control. In September 2020, Hunter sold £52 million of shares in

The Hut Group THG plc, formerly The Hut Group, is a British e-commerce retail company headquartered in Manchester, England. It sells own-brand and third-party cosmetics and dietary supplements online. In January 2025, it demerged its technology and logistic ...

when the business joined the stock market. He subsequently sold a further £31 million in January 2021. He retains a stake worth £105 million.

West Coast Capital

In March 2001, Hunter was a founding partner of West Coast Capital, the private equity arm of the Hunter Family. Through this firm he has become a major shareholder in a number of retailers – including

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Office, D2, Qube; and 8% of

British Home Stores British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, is an online store and formerly a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to exp ...

(BHS), with the bulk owned by Sir Philip Green, subsequently disposing of them all. His other investments included

Wyevale Garden Centres Wyevale Garden Centres was a British garden centre chain, founded in 1967 by the Williamson Family. The chain became the UK's largest garden centre operator in the 1990s, and purchased the Country Gardens chain in September 2000. In February ...

. At its height, West Coast invested in over 50 companies, and Hunter was touted as a possible bidder for

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...

– he lost out to

Galen Weston Willard Gordon Galen Weston (October 29, 1940April 12, 2021) was a British-Canadian billionaire businessman and Chairman Emeritus of George Weston Limited, a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Weston and his family, with an esti ...

. However, due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, he sold his stake in

Dobbies Garden Centres Dobbies Garden Centres Limited (styled as dobbies) is a British chain of garden centres based in Lasswade, Scotland. It was formerly the biggest garden centre operator in the United Kingdom, for a time, operating as many as 77 stores, some of wh ...

to partner

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

, lost his entire holding in Crest Nicholson; and a majority of his stakes in McCarthy & Stone and Wyevale Garden Centres. West Coast Capital now holds a number of major investments in property, e-commerce and data analytics including a large stake in listed Secure Income Reit Plc, majority control of the £1 billion Winchburgh Village development and a substantial stake in Order Dynamics. West Coast Capital directly funds, alongside the Hunter Family,

venture philanthropy Venture philanthropy is a type of impact investment that takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals. The term was first used in 1969 by John D. Rockefeller ...

, The Hunter Foundation. One of the investments the company holds is a 3.37% stake in the Hut Group, which was worth £151.6 million when the company listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

in September 2020.

Philanthropy

Advised to move to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

after the sale of Sports Division, Hunter wanted to raise his family in his homeland. He came to the realisation that making money was, as he told

Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at ''The Scotsman,'' he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to ...

in a 2005 BBC interview, "only half of the equation", and also from the inspiration of his acknowledged hero

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, in particular Carnegie's book ''

The Gospel of Wealth "Wealth", more commonly known as "The Gospel of Wealth", is an essay written by Andrew Carnegie in June of 1889 that describes the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of self-made rich. The article was published in the ''North ...

'' and Carnegie's sentiment that "a man who dies rich, dies disgraced". Hunter and his wife Marion, Lady Hunter, subsequently established The Hunter Foundation in 1998 with a £10 million cheque as a tax management vehicle. After discussions with

Vartan Gregorian Vartan Gregorian (April 8, 1934 – April 15, 2021) was an Armenian-American academic, educator, and historian. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1997 to 2021. Gregorian moved to the United States from Iran at age 22. H ...

, head of the Carnegie Foundation in New York City, Hunter set a cause and a method which has resulted in the foundation donating in excess of £50m to supporting educational and entrepreneurial projects in Scotland and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa in partnership with former President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

through the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative. In 2001, Hunter was interviewed for the STV programme ''Rich, Gifted and Scots'', discussing his wealth, influences and philanthropy. Hunter coined the term ''"venture philanthropy"'' – using his investment pledges to leverage more cash from others to invest with him and becoming involved in the strategic delivery of the initiatives he backed. This ensured he could make a bigger impact with his money. Hunter's donations and beneficial projects have included: *£6m to the Band Aid appeal *£1m to support the

Make Poverty History Make Poverty History were organizations in a number of countries, which focused on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally formed a coalition of aid and development agencies which worked ...

campaign *Supported the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

concerts. *£100,000 in a £500,000 joint project with the

Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...

. *£5m donation to establish the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the

*£4 million to the ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' charity appeal telethon, including a £3 million donation to the ''Children in Need'' Rickshaw Challenge 2019 *£1 million to the

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

charity appeal. Matched the £1 million raised during ''

Comic Relief Does The Apprentice ''Comic Relief Does The Apprentice'' (also known as ''The Celebrity Apprentice for Comic Relief'') is a special celebrity version of British reality television series '' The Apprentice'', initially produced to raise money for Comic Relief. The f ...

'' *US$10–25 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation. * Backed the Entrepreneurial Spark start-up accelerator, hosting their Ayrshire 'hatchery' in his Olympic Park building. * £1 million distributed between the

Alzheimer's Society Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charities Alzheimer Scotland and Alzheimer Society of Ireland co ...

and Music for Dementia in November 2020, inspired by Paul Harvey, a retired teacher and pianist suffering from dementia whose four-note piano tune went viral online, and subsequently was arranged into a charity single performed by the

BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...

. * He offered to match donations to

Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of fellow comedian Peter Kay, who invited him to appear on the television comedy series '' That Peter ...

’

challenge to ride a

Raleigh Chopper The Raleigh Chopper is a bicycle (referred to as a wheelie bike) for children / young adults, manufactured and marketed by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England. The unique design became a cultural icon and is fondly remembered by ...

from

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

up to £3 million. Scotland's former first minister,

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister f ...

, has said of Hunter: In October 2013, Hunter was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Described by some as the "Nobel Prize for philanthropy", the medal recognises those who use their private wealth for public good and is awarded biannually to global figures leading the way in this field. He dedicated the award to his father, who he describes as his "hero and inspiration". He also donated over £1,000,000 to children in need in 2018. After the death of former Scottish First Minister

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

on 12 October 2024, Hunter agreed to finance the repatriation of his body to Scotland.

Politics

In 2001, Hunter was one of the Labour Party's top 50 donors, giving £100,000 to its head office. In August 2014, Hunter unveiled the scotlandseptember18.com website dedicated to providing impartial sources of information related to the

Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won ...

. The site focused on 16 questions central to the referendum debate.

Recognition

In 1997, he was awarded Alumnus of the Year by the

. In 2005 he received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for "services to Philanthropy and to Entrepreneurship in Scotland".Sir Tom Hunter 'chuffed' at award
BBC News, 11 June 2005 In 2013 he was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Personal life

Hunter and his wife Marion, Lady Hunter, have three adult children. In 2001, Hunter is reputed to have spent £1m on his 40th birthday party, at which

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

performed. The party was held at his home in

Cap Ferrat Cap Ferrat (; ) is a cape situated in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Hospitius lived there as a recluse during the 6th century. Thus, the cape is sometimes call ...

, on the

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, which he sold to a Russian business for reputedly £55m in late 2007. In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and has been published as a magazine supplement by British national ...

'' as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1.05 billion. Due to the

, which reduced an estimated £250 million from his fortune, Hunter was overtaken as Scotland's richest man in late 2007 by

Jim McColl James Allan McColl OBE (born 22 December 1951) is a Scottish businessman who is the chairman and chief executive officer of Clyde Blowers. He was a member of the Council of Economic Advisors. In 2007, he was placed tenth on the '' Sunday ...

, head of Glasgow engineering firm

Clyde Blowers Clyde Blowers Capital is a Scotland, Scottish industrial investment company which owns several engineering companies. Its products include shipbuilding, hydraulics, pumps and electrical machines. It is led by Jim McColl. Subsidiary companies Re ...

, who has an estimated fortune of £800 million. According to the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' in 2021, Hunter is now worth £729 million.

References

External links

The Hunter Foundation

West Coast Capital – Our Partners

Profile: Sir Tom Hunter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Tom 1961 births Living people 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Alumni of Strathclyde Business School British retail chief executives British retail company founders Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor Labour Party (UK) donors People from New Cumnock Scottish billionaires Scottish company founders Scottish knights Scottish philanthropists Scottish sports businesspeople