Terence Charles Mordaunt (born 22 May 1947)[1] is a British entrepreneur, chairman and co-owner of The Bristol Port Company.
Terence Charles Mordaunt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Terence Charles Mordaunt May 1947 (age 77) Surrey, England |
| Education | Wells Cathedral School |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | Owner of The Bristol Port Company |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | Sharon Christie Mordaunt Jonathan Charles Mordaunt |
| Website | www |
He is also chairman of Pendennis Shipyard, founder of The Mordaunt Foundation, chairman of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, and trustee of The Outward Bound Trust.[2][3][4]
Early life and education
editTerence Mordaunt was educated at Wells Cathedral School in Somerset, England, which he attended between 1958 and 1965.[5]
He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol in 2000.[6]
Career
editEarly career
editMordaunt started his career as a navigating apprentice in the Merchant Navy. He obtained his master's ticket in 1974.[5]
He was later a Distribution Manager for Alcan UK, before becoming Commercial Director at housebuilder Bellway plc in 1983, where he was responsible for large land acquisitions.[5]
In 1986, Mordaunt founded management consultancy First Corporate Consultants.[5]
The Bristol Port Company
editMordaunt is co-owner and chairman of the cargo handling business The Bristol Port Company, where he has a controlling interest. He and his business partner Sir David Ord founded the company when they purchased the 150-year lease in Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Docks from Bristol City Council for £36 million in 1991.[5]
In 2015, Bristol City Council sold the freehold of the port to the company for £10 million, but retained a 12.5% non-voting stake in the company.[7]
Other activity
editMordaunt is chairman of Pendennis Shipyard, a Falmouth-based company that builds and refits luxury yachts, which had a turnover of £52m in 2017.[8][9]
In 2019, Terence Mordaunt officially handed over a collection of letters written by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to the SS Great Britain Trust when they were discovered at Bristol Port.[10]
In 2016, Mordaunt founded The Mordaunt Foundation, which provides grants to a number of regional, national and international organisations.[5]
Terence Mordaunt is a Trustee of the Outward Bound Trust.[11][5]
Since 1995, Mordaunt has been a member of The Society of Merchant Venturers.[12]
Political activity
editTerence Mordaunt is a patron of Conservative Way Forward, a British Thatcherite think tank.[13]
In April 2017, Mordaunt joined the board of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a think tank which promotes climate change denial, succeeding Nigel Lawson as chairman in 2019.[14][15] Mordaunt told OpenDemocracy in 2019: "No one has proved yet that carbon dioxide is the culprit [of climate change]. It may not be. If you ask me should we just put carbon dioxide in the air, I would say 'no'. And that is the stance of the Global Warming Policy Foundation."[2]
In 2019, The Bristol Port Company gave Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt £25,000 each for their campaigns to become the Conservative Party leader. Terence Mordaunt and Sir David Ord have given over £640,000 to the Conservative Party since 2001.[16][17] Mordaunt was listed as the 13th biggest donor to the pro-Brexit campaign.[18]
In 2022, Penny Mordaunt's prime ministerial campaign stated that Terence Mordaunt is not a relative.[19]
Since 22nd June 2023, Terence's company First Corporate Consultants Limited has given £100,000 to the Reform UK party.[20]
References
edit- ^ "Terence Charles MORDAUNT - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ a b Gogarty, Conor (22 January 2020). "The Bristol Port multi-millionaire who leads a climate sceptic group". BristolLive. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "THE OUTWARD BOUND TRUST :: United Kingdom :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Our history | The Bristol Port Company". www.bristolport.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Terence Mordaunt | The Bristol Port Company". www.bristolport.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Bristol, University of. "Honorary graduates - 1995-2015". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Avonmouth and Portbury Docks freehold sold for £10m". BBC News. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Pendennis reports record turnover". Marine Industry News. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Leadership". Pendennis Shipyard. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Treasure trove of letters written by Isambard Kingdom Brunel surface in 'extremely rare' find". The Independent. 3 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Our trustees and patrons". Outward Bound Trust. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Terence Mordaunt, Author at The Society of Merchant Venturers". The Society of Merchant Venturers. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ "Our Team". Forward!. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Heubl, Ben (28 January 2020). "UK climate change sceptics group is stronger than ever". eandt.theiet.org. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Bristol Power List 2020". Bristol 24/7. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Revealed: Climate change denier makes big donations to Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt". openDemocracy. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Tory leadership donations: who's really backing Boris Johnson". The Guardian. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ "Top Conservative donors hit out over fears Brexit 'will never happen'". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Wood, Poppy (19 July 2022). "Penny Mordaunt distances herself from 'climate sceptic' backer after taking £20,000 donation". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Electoral Commission". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2023.