Peter Hargreaves | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Kendal Hargreaves 5 October 1946 Clitheroe, Lancashire |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Clitheroe Royal Grammar School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown Chairman of Blue Whale Capital |
| Website | www |
Peter Kendal Hargreaves CBE (born 5 October 1946) [1] is a British businessman and executive. Along with Stephen Lansdown, he founded Hargreaves Lansdown, a large UK financial services company, where he retains a 10 per cent shareholding. [2] [3] [4] He is a partner in Blue Whale Capital, an investment company that was launched in 2017. [5]
Hargreaves was born in Clitheroe and educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School in Lancashire. [6] [7] [8]
Trained as an accountant, [8] Peter Hargreaves initially worked as a computer salesman. [8] He then started Hargreaves Lansdown trading from a bedroom in 1981; in 2010, he stood down as chief executive and, in the same year, received £18 million in dividends. He was succeeded as CEO by Ian Gorham. His wealth was reported at £2,315 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2017, making him the 51st richest person in the UK. [9] Hargreaves joined the board of ITM Power in February 2004 as a non-executive director: [10] he has invested heavily in ITM Power. [11] In March 2016 he joined the Leave.EU movement to campaign for the UK's exit from the European Union. [12] He was the top donor to the Brexit campaign contributing over £3 million to the Leave campaign. [13] In September 2017, Hargreaves announced a £25 million backing in Blue Whale Capital – a new asset management company set up by previous colleague, Stephen Yiu. [14] [15]
It was announced in August 2020 that Hargreaves would receive £63.4 million in dividends after Hargreaves Lansdown's profits increased by 24% to £378.3 million in the 12 months leading up to 30 June 2020. [16] [17]
According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 his net worth was estimated at £2.4 billion. [18] In 2021, he came ninth in a list of the top ten biggest taxpayers in the UK, having paid a tax bill of £91.4 million that year. [19]
In April 2025, Hargreaves nominated himself as a non-executive board member of Hargreaves Lansdown, which he is able to do as a shareholder. [3] [20] He also nominated his son as a board observer. [3] [20]
In October 2025, Hargreaves stepped down from the board of Hargreaves Lansdown and appointed his son as his replacement. [4]
Hargreaves was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to business innovation, financial services and the City of Bristol. [21]
Hargreaves financially supported the Leave.EU campaign in 2016, [22] [23] donating £3.2 million to the Leave.EU campaign founded by Arron Banks and wrote to 15 million UK householders asking them to support the leave campaign in the European Union membership referendum. [24] [25]
In May 2016, Hargreaves said that Brexit will lead to insecurity, which will turn out to be very effective. [26] Hargreaves said that Theresa May should reassure the three million EU nationals already in the UK that their current rights would be maintained. [27]
Hargreaves donated £1 million to the Conservatives’ election fund in 2019. [28]
In 1986 he married Rosemary; they have one son and one daughter. [29] They live in a Georgian property in the West Country. [6] He owns three racehorses. [8]