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David Brownlow, Baron Brownlow of Shurlock Row

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row
CVO DL
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 October 2019
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born
David Ellis Brownlow

(1963-09-16) 16 September 1963 (age 61)
Liverpool
Political partyConservative
Alma materNewcastle Polytechnic

David Ellis Brownlow, Baron Brownlow of Shurlock Row, CVO DL (born 16 September 1963) is a British entrepreneur, Conservative Party donor, philanthropist[citation needed] and life peer. He sits as a member of the House of Lords and served as Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party from July 2017 until July 2020.[1]

He is the founder of The David Brownlow Charitable Foundation[2] and a trustee of the Royal Albert Hall Trust.[3] He was appointed Deputy to the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire in January 2018.

Early life

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Born in Liverpool, Brownlow graduated in economics from Newcastle Polytechnic, and spent two years as a policeman with Thames Valley Police based in Slough.[4][1]

Business career

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Brownlow co-founded the recruitment firm Huntswood in 1996 and in 2013 co-founded a private equity firm, Havisham, through which over £20 million has been invested. Havisham is one of the biggest investors in Cefinn, a fashion label founded by Samantha Cameron, the wife of David Cameron. Brownlow was described as Cameron’s "white knight" rescuer as Cefinn was losing more than £500,000 a year when Brownlow took a 10% stake in 2018.[1]

The Prince's Foundation

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Brownlow was a trustee of The Prince's Foundation between 2013 and 2018, serving for a period as Chairman.[5] Between 2012 and 2017, Havisham Properties, owned by Brownlow, purchased 11 properties for £1.7 million on the Knockroon development, a site originally acquired as a piece of farmland by Prince Charles when he bought nearby Dumfries House, and intended to become an eco-village.[5] Dumfries House Trust also awarded Brownlow's company a £1.2 million construction contract.[6] In July 2022, a spokesman for the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator said "we can confirm that the work of Havisham Group and property transactions relating to the Knockroon development in Ayrshire forms part of our overall investigation, work on which is ongoing."[5] Brownlow was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 2018 Birthday Honours.[7] The Prince's Foundation said "Lord Brownlow was appointed CVO in recognition of his role of chair of The Prince's Foundation for Building Community."[8]

Politics

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He was nominated for a life peerage in Theresa May's resignation honours and was created Baron Brownlow of Shurlock Row, of Shurlock Row in the Royal County of Berkshire, on 9 October 2019 and introduced to The House on 15 October 2019.[9][10][11] In figures released by the Electoral Commission, it was shown that he was one of the Conservative Party's biggest donors,[12] giving the party almost £3 million (£714,690 in 2017 alone).[1][13] Brownlow’s company Huntswood Associates Ltd paid a total of £112,549 to the supplier responsible for the refurbishment of the flat above 11 Downing Street, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife, Carrie, and their children live.[14] Johnson has since repaid more than £110,000 of these costs. By the end of December 2021, sources with knowledge of the matter indicated to the press that the prime minister is expected to be cleared of breaking the ministerial code with regard to the £58,000 of flat improvement expenses which remained under scrutiny.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Who is Lord Brownlow, the man who helped pay for Downing Street refurb?". The Guardian. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Who we are". The David Brownlow Charitable Foundation. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Royal Albert Hall Trust". Royal Albert Hall. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Lord Brownlow: Multimillionaire ex-cop who rubs shoulders with royalty now at centre of PM flat refurb claims". Sky News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Summers, Hannah (2 July 2022). "Watchdog investigates firm behind Prince Charles's eco-village in Scotland". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  6. ^ Pogrund, Gabriel (2 July 2022). "Prince Charles honoured tycoon Lord Brownlow who bailed out his eco-village". The Times. Retrieved 3 July 2022.(subscription required)
  7. ^ "No. 62310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 2018. p. B4.
  8. ^ Quadri, Sami (3 July 2022). "Watchdog investigating peer given honour after bailing out Prince Charles' £1.7m project". Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Resignation Peerages 2019" (PDF). Cabinet Office. 10 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row". UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  11. ^ "No. 62796". The London Gazette. 15 October 2019. p. 18456.
  12. ^ "Theresa May accused of cronyism over resignation honours list". The Guardian. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Revealed: The 20 super-rich fatcats who bankrolled the Tories with £11.5m donations in one yea". The Mirror. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  14. ^ Elgot, Jessica; Allegretti, Aubrey; Walker, Peter (9 December 2021). "Boris Johnson accused of misleading ethics adviser over No 10 refurb". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Johnson to be cleared over donation for Downing St flat refurbishment". Financial Times. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
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