Richard Tice
Richard James Sunley Tice (born 13 September 1964) is a British businessman and politician, who has been chairman of Reform UK since 2019.
Richard Tice | |
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![]() Tice in 2018 | |
Chairman of Reform UK | |
Assumed office 12 April 2019 | |
Preceded by | Office established |
Member of the European Parliament for East of England | |
In office 2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020 | |
Preceded by | Patrick O'Flynn |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Richard James Sunley Tice 13 September 1964 Farnham, England |
Political party | Reform UK (since 2019) |
Other political affiliations | Conservative (before 2019) |
Relations | Bernard Sunley (grandfather) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Uppingham School |
Alma mater | University of Salford |
Occupation | CEO, Quidnet Capital Co-founder of Leave Means Leave and former co-chair of Leave.EU |
Website | http://www.richardtice.com |
He was elected as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament for the East of England at the 2019 European Parliament election. He held this role until the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU. Tice was a founder of the pro-Brexit campaign groups Leave Means Leave, and Leave.EU.
Tice is CEO of the property asset management group Quidnet Capital LLP. He was previously, from 2010 to 2014, CEO of the real estate group CLS Holdings.
Early life
Richard James Sunley Tice was born on 13 September 1964 in Farnham, Surrey,[1][2] to hop farmer James A. Tice, of Teeton Hall, Hollowell, Northamptonshire,[3] and the philanthropist and horse trainer Joan Mary Tice OBE, who died on 26 April 2019.[4][5] He is a maternal grandson of the property developer Bernard Sunley.[6][7]
His early education was at a prep school and then the independent Uppingham School.[8] Tice is the vice chair of trustees for the latter school.[9] He subsequently received a bachelor's degree in construction economics and quantity surveying at the University of Salford.[6]
Property career
After graduation in 1987, Tice reports that his first job was at the housing developer London and Metropolitan. This included time at their Paris office where he learnt French. He then started working for a housebuilding and commercial property company called The Sunley Group in 1991. Tice was its joint chief executive officer (CEO) for 14 years before leaving the company in 2006.[10][11]
Tice then ran his own debt advisory consultancy before joining property investment group CLS Holdings in 2010. He led major planning property applications in Vauxhall, London. He was their CEO till 2014, during which time he tripled the share price. He left the company to become the CEO of property investment firm, Quidnet Capital Partners LLP.[12][13]
Political career
Euroscepticism
Tice is a Eurosceptic. He was a director of the campaign group, Business for Sterling.[14] It campaigned for the United Kingdom not to join the Euro currency in the late 1990s.[15] Tice donated £1,750 to Eurosceptic MP David Davis' candidacy in the 2001 Conservative Party leadership election.[16]
In July 2015, Tice co-founded, with businessman Arron Banks, the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign group. It was originally known as The Know.EU before being rebranded in September of that year as Leave.EU.[17][18][19] He also donated £38,000 to pro-Brexit campaign group Grassroots Out.[20][21][22] Shortly after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in the June 2016 referendum, he left Leave.EU, and co-founded the pressure group Leave Means Leave.[23] He co-chairs it with the businessman John Longworth. In October 2017, they were placed jointly at Number 90 on Iain Dale's list of the "Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right".[24]
Tice, Arron Banks, Andy Wigmore, Nigel Farage are sometimes referred to by sections of the media as the 'Bad Boys of Brexit', a group who facilitated Brexit.[25][26][27] He has written a number of articles advocating for a No-deal Brexit.[28] Tice was the first to use the phrase, 'no deal is better than a bad deal' in relation to Brexit in July 2016 which would later be used in then Prime Minister Theresa May's Lancaster House speech outlining the government's approach to negotiations in January 2017.[29][30] Tice in his role as Chaiman of the Brexit Party regularly represents the Party's official view, with appearances in the media including, BBC Radio 4's 'Any Questions?'[31]
European Parliament
He is the chairman of the Brexit Party, a Eurosceptic political party which participated in the 2019 European parliamentary election and the 2019 U.K. general election.[32] The Brexit Party was formed as an incorporated limited company on 23 Nov 2018, and Tice was appointed a director of it on 8 May 2019.[33] On 30 October 2020, an application by Nigel Farage to the Electoral Commission was made, to change the Brexit Party's name to 'Reform UK'.[34][35]
In the EU elections the Brexit Party won 29 seats in the European Parliament.[36] withTice standing as a candidate. He was first on his party's list, and was elected as one of three of its MEPs in the East of England constituency.[37] In the European Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and was part of the delegation for relations with Canada.[1] Prior to joining the Brexit Party, he was a long term donor, and member of the Conservative Party.[38] In November 2019, it was announced that he would stand as the Brexit Party candidate in Hartlepool in the 2019 general election.[39] Tice came third in Hartlepool with 25.8% of the vote.[40]
Education
Tice has been a member of the governing body of Northampton Academy in Northampton since 2004, and is also the vice chair of trustees at the independent Uppingham School.[9][41] He wrote a 2008 report for the think tank Reform called 'Academies: A model education?'.[6] In 2017, Tice co-wrote a pamphlet for the think tank UK 2020, 'Timebomb: how the university cartel is failing Britain's students', which included recommendations on how to expand two-year degrees.[42] Tice produced a follow-up report on student finances called 'Defusing the debt timebomb' which he sent to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond.[43]
Housing
A long-time contributor to the magazine Property Week, Tice is a regular commentator on developments within the property world.[44] In a May 2018 article on the Conservative Home website, Tice argued for the importance of expanding the availability of homes for people on lower incomes and how this could be achieved more effectively. He felt that crime could also be reduced if housing was better managed.[45]
Personal life
Tice is married and has three children.[46] He began a relationship with the journalist Isabel Oakeshott in 2018 and separated from his wife in March 2019.[47]
In October 2019, openDemocracy revealed that two offshore companies had owned shares in Tice's family business, Sunley Family Limited, since 1994.[48]
References
- "Richard Tice". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- "Richard James Sunley Tice". Companies House. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Horse & Hound, vol. CXXXIV, issue 21, 23 May 2019, p. 10, 'Obituaries'
- Ulke, Alastair (8 May 2019). "'Formidable' philanthropist who raised millions for Northampton charities and young people passes away". Northampton Chronicle. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Silk, Huw (30 December 2014). "Northamptonshire's New Year's honours winners 'humbled' and 'thrilled' to be recognised". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Tice, Richard. "Academies: a model education?" (PDF). p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- "The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation Annual Report 2013" (PDF). The Bernald Sunley Charitable Foundation. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- "OU (Old Uppinghamians) Magazine" (41). Uppingham School. 2013: 9. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "The Trustees". Uppingham School. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- "My life". Richard Tice. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "Board of Directors". Principle Capital. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "Richard Tice". Quidnet Capital. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Brinded, Lianna (11 November 2015). "'Britain should leave the EU because it's flatlining and not helping its citizens'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "Eurosceptic". Richard Tice. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Brown, Colin (11 June 1998). "'Business for Sterling' to campaign against euro". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "The Rt Hon David Davis MP (Great Britain), Non Cash (NC0027333)". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Hope, Christopher (21 June 2015). "Millionaires prepare to launch £20million non-political campaign for Britain to quit European Union". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- "Brexit: Leave Means Leave campaign prepares for another referendum". BBC News. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Hope, Christopher (11 July 2015). "Millionaire Jim Mellon backs £20million 'anti-politics' campaign to leave EU as name revealed". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "GO Movement Ltd, Cash (C0259200)". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- "Grassroots Out Ltd, Cash (C0241524)". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "GO Movement Ltd, Non Cash (NC0242394)". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- "Donald Tusk: EU's 'heart still open to UK' over Brexit". BBC News. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Dale, Iain (2 October 2017). "The Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right: Iain Dale's 2017 List". LBC. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- Burton, Lucy (6 June 2017). "One of the 'Bad Boys of Brexit' plots £100m stock market return". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "The Alarming Return of Nigel Farage". The New Yorker. 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 22 May 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Bennett, Owen (29 June 2018). "Brexit 'Bad Boy' Richard Tice Puts Himself Forward To Be Tory Candidate For London Mayor". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "Richard Tice". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- Asthana, Anushka; Stewart, Heather; Elgot, Jessica (18 January 2017). "Brexit: May's threat to Europe: 'no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- "FactCheck: Did Nigel Farage coin the phrase 'no deal is better than a bad deal'?". TheJournal.ie. 14 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- BBC Radio 4, 'Any Questions?' chaired by Chris Mason. Broadcast 6 November 2020, repeated 7 November 2020.
- "Eddie Mair Grills Brexit Party Chairman On No-Deal As Tory Peer Argues It Was Never Debated". LBC. 6 August 2019. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "Officer". Companies House. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Read, Jonathon (2 November 2020). "Nigel Farage to rename the Brexit Party as 'Reform Party'". The New European. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- "Nigel Farage: Brexit Party to focus on fighting lockdown". BBC News. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- Rankin, Jennifer (2 July 2019). "Brexit party MEPs turn backs on Ode to Joy at European parliament". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "2019 European elections: List of candidates for the East of England". BBC News. 28 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "My life". Richard Tice. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- "General election 2019: Brexit chairman stands in Hartlepool". BBC News. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- "Hartlepool". BBC News. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- "Governance". Northampton Academy. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- Burns, Judith (3 September 2017). "Universities run cartel, says think tank". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- Tice, Richard. "Defusing the Debt Timebomb" (PDF). UK2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- "Richard Tice's articles". Property Week. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- "Richard Tice: Let's all do our bit to end the scourge of knife crime". Conservative Home. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- "Early years". Richard Tice. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- Gilligan, Andrew; Shipman, Tim (14 July 2019). "Trump leak scandal engulfs Brexit Party". The Sunday Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.(subscription required)
- Beizsley, Daniel (11 October 2019). "Revealed: Farage's Brexit Party chairman facing questions over offshore tax haven links". openDemocracy. Retrieved 28 October 2019.