Simon Dolan

Last updated

Simon Dolan
Born (1969-05-20) 20 May 1969 (age 54)
Chelmsford, Essex, England
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forSports car racing, investments, political activism
Website www.nodegree.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Simon James Dolan [1] (born 20 May 1969) is a British businessman and investor who made his fortune through accountancy services. Since 2020, he has opposed measures by the United Kingdom government linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and has made legal challenges to government decisions. Dolan competed as an amateur driver in international sports car racing, recording a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014.

Contents

Career

Dolan claims that he was "thrown out of school at 16 with virtually no qualifications" and sold cheese and eggs at a market which taught him "the gift-of-the-gab, commitment to hard graft and strong arithmetic" [2] [3] Dolan placed an advertisement offering accountancy services which led to the establishment of SJD Accountancy in Berkhamsted in 1997. [2] In 1999, Dolan also set up Contractor Umbrella Ltd. SJD Accountancy was acquired in 2014 along with accounting practice Nixon Williams by Sovereign Capital for over £100 million. [4]

Dolan began investing in start-up companies via Twitter in 2010, initially offering a £5 million investment pot for successful business pitches on the social networking site, earning himself the nickname "Twitter Dragon". [5] [6]

Dolan established Dolan Accountancy in 2017. [7] Dolan Accountancy was the winner in the Best Contractor Accountant (under 1,000 clients) category in the 2019 Contracting Awards. [8]

According to Companies House, which list his directorships, Dolan was resident in Monaco [9] and in France. [10] In 2023 he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, having bought casino billionaire Steve Wynn's estate. [11]

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, Dolan is worth £200 million. [12]

Political activism

In 2020, Dolan founded Keep Britain Free, a group associated with the British anti-lockdown movement. [13]

Dolan is the author of a book outlining the achievements of former US President Donald Trump entitled Trump: the Hidden Halo that was published in April 2021 with a foreword by Nigel Farage. [14]

Opposition to UK COVID-19 lockdown and judicial review

Dolan believes that the British government has ulterior motives for the COVID-19 lockdowns. He sees it as a way for those in power to "test how malleable a society is" in order to limit citizens' freedom, or as a way to introduce mandatory vaccinations. Dolan also referenced climate change, which he says the government has "been banging on about". He said: "What has happened will undoubtedly help [climate change campaigns], because the world has become cleaner as industries have shut down." According to Dolan, people who receive “a cheque for nothing” are the ones supporting the lockdown" [15]

On 1 May 2020, Dolan started proceedings to challenge the UK Government's lockdown decision, suggesting the Government had acted illegally and disproportionately over the COVID-19 lockdown. [16] He began a crowdfunding campaign to fund the proposed action, writing on the crowdfunding page: "By forcing people to stay at home, and forcing businesses to close, they are, we believe, in contravention of basic Human Rights offered under English Law, that of the right to enjoy your property peacefully." [17] As of 10 June it had raised over £210,000 with almost 7,000 people contributing. [18] The proceedings were opposed by The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) who stated, "The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is applying to intervene in a High Court legal challenge brought by multi-millionaire Simon Dolan. Dolan, a conspiracy theorist and businessman based in Monaco, is attempting to force the government to prematurely end the lockdown, a move that would disproportionately impact low-paid and BAME workers." [19]

On 6 July 2020, Dolan was refused permission for judicial review by the Honourable Mr Justice Lewis, who said that "the restrictions were imposed [during] a global pandemic where a novel, highly infectious disease capable of causing death was spreading and was transmissible between humans...There was a legal duty to review the restrictions periodically and to end the restrictions if they were no longer necessary to achieve the aim of reducing the spread and the incidence of coronavirus. The regulations would end after six months in any event. In those, possibly unique, circumstances, there is no realistic prospect that a court would find that regulations adopted to reduce the opportunity for transmission by limiting contact between individuals was disproportionate". [17] On 9 July, Dolan launched an appeal against the decision. [20] [17]

Dolan's appeal against the initial decision was successful and on 5 August the Court of Appeal ruled that the challenge against the government's lockdown would continue to be heard with Lord Justice Hickinbottom who stated that he was persuaded that the grounds should be considered by the full court in open court, and the claimants "given an opportunity to make good their case, at least on arguability". [21] Dolan's judicial review challenged the then new UK rule of a limit of six people per group otherwise known as the rule of six on 14 September. [22] On 1 December, it was ruled that the Government should not face a Judicial Review regarding the initial lockdown measures. The court warned against treating judicial reviews as evolving or “rolling” proceedings, and parties filing “excessively long” pleadings. The court criticised Dolan and the other Appellants for taking two months to start their claim, rather than very promptly following the making of the Regulations in March 2020. [23]

Dolan has opposed the UK government's adoption of the Pfizer vaccine. [24] He also has claimed that requiring people to wear masks is a step toward authoritarianism, tweeting, 'Unless you make a stand, you will be wearing a mask for the rest of your life.' [25]

In January 2021, Dolan was a cosignatory [26] of an open letter titled 'The Chinese Communist Party's Global Lockdown Fraud', alleging pro-Chinese government bias by international scientists and officials. [27] According to a Coda Story report, Dolan "said there was 'no doubt' that the global response to the pandemic’s origins lay within the Communist Party of China. He implied that 'pictures of people supposedly dropping dead in the streets of China' was part of a propaganda campaign by Beijing." [28]

Motor racing

Dolan's interest in motor racing began in March 2007 when he started investing in Jota Sport, which he joined later in 2008 as driver[ citation needed ]. In 2010, Jota Sport signed a multi-year agreement to become an Aston Martin official partner team in motorsports. [29] Jota initially competed in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage at the 2010 24 Hours of Spa where the team won their class. [30] Dolan and co-driver Sam Hancock participated in the V de V Sports series with a best finish of third at Circuit Paul Ricard. Dolan made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2011.

Dolan's career highlight was 1st place in the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2014 with Harry Tincknell and Oliver Turvey, who replaced Marc Gené after he was recalled to Team Joest Audi Sport LMP1 team following an accident in practice for Loic Duval. [31]

Following a sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom, the team competed as G-Drive Racing for the 2016 European Le Mans Series following a transfer of naming rights. [32] Racing in a Gibson 015S, Dolan and G-Drive's season got underway at Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom, in April, where they recorded their opening win of the season in the LMP2 category. [33] The victory was followed up with a runners-up finish at the following race at Imola, in May 2016. The team's good performance continued throughout the season and was capped with a victory in the final race of the season at Estoril, in Portugal. The victory secured the 2016 European Le Mans Series title for G-Drive Racing. Dolan topped the Drivers' classification alongside teammates Giedo Van Der Garde and Harry Tincknell, all securing 105 points. [34]

Journey to Le Mans

Dolan was the focus of a 2014 British film, directed by Dolan's business partner [35] Charlotte Fantelli, that followed Jota Sport on their quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category in 2014. The film followed Dolan and his Jota Sport teammates on their way to victory.

Racing results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jota Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sam Hancock
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Buncombe 		Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 GTE
Pro		74DNFDNF
2012 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jota Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sam Hancock
Flag of Japan.svg Haruki Kurosawa		 Zytek Z11SN-Nissan LMP2271DNFDNF
2013 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jota Sport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Turvey
Flag of Germany.svg Lucas Luhr 		Zytek Z11SN-Nissan LMP231913th7th
2014 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jota Sport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Turvey
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Harry Tincknell 		Zytek Z11SN-Nissan LMP23565th1st
2015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jota Sport Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Turvey
Flag of New Zealand.svg Mitch Evans 		Gibson 015S-Nissan LMP235810th2nd
2016 Flag of Russia.svg G-Drive Racing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jake Dennis
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Giedo van der Garde 		Gibson 015S-Nissan LMP2222DNFDNF
Sources: [36] [37]

Complete European Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456RankPoints
2012 Jota LMP2 Zytek Z11SN Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 LEC
9		 DON
Ret		 ATL 16th2
2013 Jota Sport LMP2 Zytek Z11SN Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
1		 IMO
Ret		 RBR
4		 HUN
3		 LEC
3		3rd71
2014 Jota Sport LMP2 Zytek Z11SN Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
Ret		 IMO
1		 RBR
2		 LEC
4		 EST
3		2nd74
2015 Jota Sport LMP2 Gibson 015S Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
2		 IMO
3		 RBR
1		 LEC
3		 EST
4		3rd89
2016 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Gibson 015S Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
1		 IMO
2		 RBR
3		 LEC
5		 SPA
5		 EST
1		1st103
Source: [37]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Turvey</span> British race driver

Oliver Jonathan Turvey is a British professional racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula E, and is currently signed to DS Penske as a reserve driver and a sporting advisor. He was a notable kart racer, with two national titles, and was the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner. His career has been supported by the Racing Steps Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Tincknell</span> British racing driver

Harry William Tincknell is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Dempsey-Proton Racing. He won the LMP2 class on his Le Mans 24 Hour race debut in 2014 and again in LMGTE Pro in 2020, the first driver in the race's history to win in both LMP2 and LMGTE Pro. Other notable victories include the 2016 European Le Mans Series title and the overall win at the 2020 12 Hours of Sebring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Buncombe</span>

Christopher James Buncombe is a British racing driver who made his last appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours was in 2011. He joined Aston Martin Racing at the end of the 2009 season when he drove in the Le Mans Series scoring a podium finish on his debut with the team at Nürburgring driving the 008 Aston Martin LMP1 car. Chris won the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class driving for Binnie Motorsports in their Lola B05/40-Zytek.

United Autosports is a sports car racing team based in Wakefield, England, United Kingdom, founded by businessman Zak Brown and former driver Richard Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps</span>

The 2012 WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was a six-hour automobile endurance race for two or three driver teams in Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium on 5 May 2012 before 31,000 people. It was the second round of eight in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, featuring the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Professional, and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Amateur classes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Gelael</span> Indonesian racing driver

Muhammad Sean Ricardo Gelael is an Indonesian racing driver currently competing with Team WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zytek Z11SN</span> Le Mans racing car

The Zytek Z11SN is an LMP2-class racing car built by Zytek Engineering since 2011. Powered by a 4.5-litre Nissan V8 engine, it is an evolution of the Zytek 07S and the Zytek 09SC, updated for the new Le Mans Prototype regulations that were introduced in 2011. It was predominantly used in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a Greaves Motorsport-entered Z11SN won the LMP2 categories of both contests in 2011. In 2014, Jota Sport won the LMP2 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Z11SN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 24 Hours of Le Mans</span> 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race

The 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans was an 24-hour automobile endurance racing event for teams of three drivers entering Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 11 to 15 June 2014 at the Circuit de la Sarthe close to Le Mans, France. It was the 82nd running of the event, as organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. The race was the third round and the premier event of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship, with half of the race's fifty-five entries contesting the championship. Approximately 263,000 spectators attended the event, the largest crowd since 1989.

The 2014 European Le Mans Series season was the eleventh season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's European Le Mans Series. The five-event season began at Silverstone Circuit, in conjunction with the FIA World Endurance Championship, from 18–19 April and ended at Autódromo do Estoril on 19 October.

<i>Journey to Le Mans</i> 2014 British documentary film by Charlotte Fantelli

Journey to Le Mans is a 2014 British documentary film directed by Charlotte Fantelli about British Privateer Team Jota Sport on their bid to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category in 2014. This film represents Charlotte Fantelli's directorial debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 European Le Mans Series</span>

The 2015 European Le Mans Series season was the twelfth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) European Le Mans Series. The five-event season began at Silverstone Circuit, in conjunction with the FIA World Endurance Championship, on 11 April and finished at Autódromo do Estoril on 18 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jota Sport</span> British sports car racing team

Jota Sport is a British sports car racing team. Founded as Team Jota by Sam Hignett and John Stack, Jota Sport is part of the Jota Group which is owned by Sam Hignett and David Clark. The team is based in Tunbridge Wells in England. Jota Sport has finished on the overall podium of 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans with two Oreca in an alliance with Jackie Chan DC Racing. In 2018/2019 Jota competed, in partnership with Arden International, RP Motorsport, Jackie Chan DC Racing and Aston Martin in the FIA World Endurance Championship with two ORECA 07 LMP2 and in the GT World Challenge Europe with Mclaren 720S GT3 cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salih Yoluç</span> Turkish racing driver

Ahmet Salih Yoluç is a Turkish racing driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Eastwood</span> Irish racing driver

Charlie Eastwood is a racing driver from Northern Ireland who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for TF Sport. Having been an Aston Martin factory driver, Eastwood was signed by Corvette Racing in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Chan DC Racing</span> Chinese Sportscar Racing Team

Jackie Chan DC Racing, formerly known as DC Racing, is a racing team that competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series, With plans to make a return to the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023. The team is co-owned by Asian Le Mans champion David Cheng and actor Jackie Chan. Partnering with Jota Sport in WEC, the team fields Oreca 07: the No. 37 for Ho-Pin Tung, Gabriel Aubry and Will Stevens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Hanson (racing driver)</span> British racing driver

Philip Beauchamp Hanson is a British racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series with United Autosports.

The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship was the ninth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading manufacturers and drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 24 Hours of Le Mans</span> 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race

The 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans was a 24 hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars fielded by teams of three drivers each held from 19 to 20 September 2020 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close to Le Mans, France. It was the 88th running of the event, as organised by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. The race, held behind closed doors, was the seventh in the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, having been postponed from June to September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.

The 2021 Asian Le Mans Series was the ninth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The four-event season began at the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai on 13 February 2021 and ended at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on 20 February 2021.

Kyle R. Tilley is a British professional racing driver. He mainly competes in historic motorsport and sports car racing such as the Historic Formula One Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship; in IMSA, he drives in the LMP2 class for his team Era Motorsport. He won the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 championship in 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "Simon James DOLAN". Companies House. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 Bearne, Suzanne (4 June 2018). "The high school dropout who banked £80m". BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Dolan, Simon (18 August 2011). "The Telegraph – You don't need a degree to get ahead". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  4. ↑ Reed, Kevin (22 September 2014). "£100m private equity deal creates new accounting group". Accountancy Age .
  5. ↑ Kaffash, Jaimie (31 August 2011). "Simon says reform the partnership model". Accountancy Age . Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Hurley, James (14 June 2010). "Successful business pitches via twitter get 800k investment". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  7. ↑ "Meet the Team - Nationwide Contractor Accountants". Dolan Accountancy. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Winners 2019". The Contracting Awards 2020.
  9. ↑ "Dolan Accountancy Limited - Officers". Companies House.
  10. ↑ "Jota Aircraft Leasing Ltd - Officers". Companies House.
  11. ↑ "Steve Wynn sells Las Vegas mansion for $17.5M". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. ↑ Times, The Sunday (25 June 2023). "Rich List 2020: profiles 601-700=, featuring Ed Sheeran and Calvin Harris" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  13. ↑ Edkins, Darcey (22 September 2020). "Keep Britain Free founder says he is 'pro-choice' not 'anti-face mask' on London Underground". MyLondon. Reach plc. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Trump: The Hidden Halo". Biteback Publishing. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Are the Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Real?". www.vice.com. 15 May 2020.
  16. ↑ Jones, Amy (1 May 2020). "Leading businessman launches legal challenge against Government's lockdown measures". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 Sillars, James (6 July 2020). "Coronavirus: Businessman loses legal fight over 'draconian' lockdown". Sky News. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "Crowd Justice legal challenge". Crowd Justice. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  19. ↑ "Lockdown is required to protect BAME and low paid workers' lives, IWGB to argue in High Court intervention". iwgb.org.uk.
  20. ↑ "Keep Britain Free – Appeal". 9 July 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  21. ↑ Slingo, Jemma (28 August 2020). "Lockdown legal challenge reaches next stage of litigation". Law Gazette. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  22. ↑ Hymas, Charles (10 September 2020). "'Rule of six' restrictions already facing legal challenge". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "Challenge to lockdown regulations heard by the Court of Appeal – Judgment". 1 December 2020.
  24. ↑ "UK Covid-19 vaccine rollout sparks false infertility claims". First Draft.
  25. ↑ "Misinformation on coronavirus is proving highly contagious". AP NEWS. 29 July 2020.
  26. ↑ Ahmed, Nafeez (12 January 2021). "LBC Radio Host Maajid Nawaz Bankrolled by US Republican Dark Money". Byline Times.
  27. ↑ "The Chinese Communist Party's Global Lockdown Fraud". Medium. 10 January 2021.
  28. ↑ Loucaides, Darren (9 August 2021). "Inside the UK's anti-lockdown media machine". Coda Story. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  29. ↑ "Jota Sport Sign Aston Martin Deal". 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012.
  30. ↑ "Team Jota win Spa 24 Hours in GT4". 2 August 2010.
  31. ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Marc Gene to replace Duval in #1 Audi". crash.net. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "JOTA Sport Announces Partnership With Gazprom Neft" Archived 13 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine fiawec.com
  33. ↑ "Van der Garde wins on sportscar debut with Jota in Silverstone ELMS" autosport.com/
  34. ↑ "ELMS Estoril: Van der Garde seals championship in Jota Sport Gibson" autosport.com/
  35. ↑ "The Business : This is a news story". www.bizmag.co.uk.
  36. ↑ "Simon Dolan". Automobile Club de l'Ouest . Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  37. 1 2 "Simon Dolan Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
Sporting positions
Preceded by European Le Mans Series
LMP2 Champion
2016
With: Giedo van der Garde & Harry Tincknell 		Succeeded by
Memo Rojas
Leo Roussel
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.