Robert Jenrick is facing further questions about donations totalling £75,000 to his Conservative leadership campaign from a firm that was loaned money via a tax haven, after a businessman revealed himself to be the ultimate source of the funding.
Jenrick, the former immigration minister, has been criticised over the transparency of his funding after it emerged that the campaign donation came from a company that had been loaned money from another firm based in the British Virgin Islands.
Phillip Ullmann, an entrepreneur, revealed on Monday that he had given the money to the Tory leadership frontrunner through Spott Fitness, a fitness coaching app provider that he said was “part of my family’s group of businesses”.
However, Ullmann’s name does not appear on the list of people with significant control in Spott Fitness at Companies House, leaving questions over how he is behind the organisation.
On Sunday, Labour wrote to the Electoral Commission asking for an investigation into the origin of the money after Jenrick received three donations of £25,000 from the business in July. Party sources said on Monday that there were still questions to answer about the arrangement after Ullman revealed himself to be behind the company.
The company’s accounts show it has no employees, has never made a profit and has more than £300,000 of debts, and in January it registered a loan from Centrovalli, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
In a statement on Monday, Ullmann said he wanted to avoid suggestions that he was “hiding anything” and insisted he understood the importance of transparency surrounding political donations.
“I’ve been a successful businessman over the years,” he said. “But in recent times I’ve become concerned about the grave challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world. I tried, unsuccessfully, to make some of that right by changing my businesses into social enterprises. But I’ve come to see that we need huge political change.”
He added: “I wanted to back Robert Jenrick, whose serious solutions to big challenges – including on migration – appeal to me. I don’t agree with him on everything but broadly we are aligned. I chose to give the money from Spott Fitness, a company which is part of my family’s group of businesses. It’s a phenomenal company that’s using tech to improve people’s health and will be a hugely successful business.
“But I don’t want there to be any suggestion at all that I’m hiding anything and I understand the importance of donor transparency. So I’m happy to confirm my connection to Spott. I love my country, I was born and raised in the UK and have always paid tax and lived here. I’m going to continue to set out my ideas for changing the world and our financial system and am always happy to meet with people and set out my ideas in this space.”
Ellie Reeves, the Labour chair, said in a letter to the Electoral Commission on Sunday: “Donations to MPs must come from sources registered in the UK. It is clear that Jenrick has serious questions to answer about the origin of these funds and their legality.”
Jenrick’s campaign has said the donations were properly and legally declared. Jenrick told Sky News on Sunday that the donations were “perfectly legal and valid”.
