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Doug Barrowman
Born
Douglas Alan Barrowman

(1965-03-01) 1 March 1965 (age 59)
Glasgow, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse
​
(m. 2020)​
Children4

Douglas Alan Barrowman (born March 1965)[1] is a Scottish businessman.[2] He founded the Knox Group of Companies and has invested in Ve Interactive, Aston Ventures, and Equi Capital.[3][4][5] He is married to Michelle Mone.[6]

In 2022, in a series of investigative pieces, The Guardian reported that Barrowman, Mone and their children had secretly received £45.8 million in payments to offshore accounts from government PPE contracts, which they had lobbied for during the COVID-19 pandemic. The police launched an investigation into Barrowman's activities in January 2022.

On the 17 December 2023, Barrowman denied any wrongdoings when interviewed with his wife Baroness Mone on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. He explained that as a businessman and Isle of Man resident he had led a consortium that were awarded UK PPE contracts. He stated neither his wife or children had received proceeds from the business deal but admitted that profits had been placed in a Trust from which they might benefit upon his death.[7]

Early life

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Barrowman was born on 1 March 1965 in Glasgow, Scotland. He was raised in Simshill, before moving to Rutherglen at the age of 13, where he attended King's Park Secondary School. He later attended Glasgow University, graduating with a Bachelor of Accountancy degree in 1985.[8]

Career

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Early career

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After graduating, Barrowman completed his professional examinations and qualified as a chartered accountant.[9] He worked for 3i, a private equity fund.[10] Barrowman resigned from 3i in 1992, to set up his own corporate finance practice during the 1990s.[11] He exited from the practice in 1999.[9]

Aston Ventures

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In 1999, Barrowman founded Aston Ventures, a private investment vehicle.[12] Over the next ten years, Aston Ventures made 13 acquisitions of "old economy" businesses, including the third largest cable making company in the world, B3 Cables, with a total turnover of about £400 million over that period.[12][13]

The Knox Group

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In 2008, Barrowman moved to the Isle of Man and founded The Knox Group of Companies which owned several businesses, including Aston Ventures.[14] Barrowman was also a director of Aston Management Ltd (AML), which provided tax advice and offshore loan schemes to freelance workers including social workers, locum doctors, nurses and engineers.[15] AML's services came under scrutiny after the UK government announced in 2017 that it would be claiming back tax from 50,000 scheme users through the Loan Charge measure, leading to criticism[clarification needed] in the House of Commons.[16][17][18][19][20] AML ceased trading in 2010 before the tax rules changed.[17] In October 2020, a BBC report highlighted how thousands of AML customers were left facing a retrospective Loan Charge by HMRC.[21]

In 2011 Barrowman co-founded the KHG Private Equity Fund.[22]

VE Interactive

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VE Interactive collapsed into insolvency in 2018. Barrowman and other directors bought the insolvent company for £2m but the directors were removed by a court following accusations they botched the sale. The High Court case shone a light on controversial “pre-pack” administrations that allow companies to go bust, shed their debts and immediately be sold.[23]

Financial Provisions Solutions

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Knox Group owned Financial Provisions Solutions, which went into voluntary liquidation in January 2019. In December 2022, the Daily Record reported that Army veterans lost tens of thousands of pounds when they transferred out of the final salary Army scheme to Financial Provisions Solutions.[24]

Other business activities

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In 2017, Barrowman became the interim chairman of Ve Interactive, after an emergency cash injection and investment into the firm.[25] In the same year, Aston Plaza and Residences, a residential and commercial property development in Dubai priced in bitcoin, was launched.[26]

PPE Medpro

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The Guardian released a set of articles, first in 2020 but then again in November 2022, detailing Barrowman and Mone's implication in lobbying for government PPE contracts, and the financial rewards they saw from these government contracts.[27] Barrowman received £45.8 million in payments to his private offshore accounts from £200 million government contracts with the money earmarked for PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. In December 2023, following an application by the UK CPS Barrowman, together with Baroness Mone, consented to a court order restricting about £75m of assets linked to Barrowman and Mone.[28]

Personal life

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Barrowman has four children from his first two marriages. He married Michelle Mone in 2020.[29][6]

The Prince's Trust Doug Barrowman Centre in the Ancoats area of Manchester opened in 2019 following a donation by Barrowman of £2 million to the Prince's Trust.[30][31]

Barrowman has six homes, a collection of fifteen cars and a private jet.[32] He was featured on a 2015 episode of the television series Million Pound Mega Yacht,[33][34][35] featuring his 55-metre yacht named Turquoise.

References

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  1. ^ "Douglas Alan BARROWMAN - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Our People". Knox group of companies. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  3. ^ insider.co.uk (7 January 2019). "Former 'tech unicorn' makes its first acquisition following turnaround". businessInsider. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  4. ^ "About Doug Barrowman". The Barrowman Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Baroness Mone is now flogging business retreats for £15,000". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b Dalziel, Magdalene (30 November 2020). "Michelle Mone shares more images from stunning wedding after cancelling twice". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. ^ Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - Baroness Mone and the PPE Scandal, retrieved 17 December 2023
  8. ^ "A tale of two towers". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  9. ^ a b "About Doug Barrowman". The Barrowman Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon. "Barrowman investment firm rapped by watchdog". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. ^ "A tale of two Dougies". Enforbusiness. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  12. ^ a b "People". Knox Private Office. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  13. ^ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon. "Prince's Trust honours artful tax dodge boss Doug Barrowman". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  14. ^ "The Knox Group of Companies". Knox Group PLC. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Michelle Mone marriage plans with Glasgow billionaire trigger outrage among tax avoidance campaigners". Daily Record. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Nurses are next on taxman's hitlist". The Times. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Michelle Mone's partner marketed 'repugnant' tax schemes". The Herald. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Tories' "draconian" tax avoidance clampdown linked to 7 suicides 'caused serious distress'". Mirror. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Loan schemes offering help to ruined clients — for a fee". The Times. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Hansard: Loan Charge, 01 October 2019".
  21. ^ "File on 4 - Taxing Situations - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Aston Ventures' new vehicle ready to invest". The Business Desk. 10 March 2011.
  23. ^ "Administrators removed over sale of failed UK unicorn". www.ft.com. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  24. ^ Sommerlad, Nick (13 December 2022). "Michelle Mone's husband's company loses thousands from veteran's pensions". Daily Record. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Tech unicorn Ve Interactive's valuation slashed to £300m". The Telegraph.
  26. ^ Chavez-Dreyfuss, Gertrude (6 September 2017). "Isle of Man firm to launch 250 million-pound Dubai property priced in bitcoin". Reuters. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Revealed: Tory peer Michelle Mone secretly received £29m from 'VIP lane' PPE firm". the Guardian. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Michelle Mone hit by court order on £75mn of assets in NCA fraud probe". www.ft.com. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Ultimo founder Michelle Mone announces engagement to billionaire beau Doug Barrowman". independent. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Prince's Trust opens new Centre in the heart of Manchester | News and views | About The Trust | The Prince's Trust". www.princes-trust.org.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  31. ^ Ungoed-Thomas, Jon. "Prince's Trust honours artful tax dodge boss Doug Barrowman". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  32. ^ "Michelle Mone reveals amazing birthday treat she has in store for new boyfriend". The Evening Times.
  33. ^ "The weekend's TV highlights". The National.
  34. ^ "Highlights: Mega-Yachts". ABLE.
  35. ^ Noted. "On TV: March 26, 2016 – The Listener". Noted.
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