Terence Mordaunt

Terence Charles Mordaunt (born May 1947)[1] is a British entrepreneur and Chairman and co-owner of The Bristol Port Company.

Terence Mordaunt
Born
Terence Charles Mordaunt

May 1947 (age 74)
NationalityBritish
OccupationEntrepreneur
OrganizationThe Bristol Port Company

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

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

Early career

Mordaunt 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

Mordaunt 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]

At the time of privatisation, the docks were costing local ratepayers £12.50 every year just to cover the Port’s losses.[5]

In the first year of Mordaunt and Ord’s ownership, the company made a pre-tax profit of £3 million, the first profit the port had made in two decades. It has since made a profit in every year under their ownership.[5]

Since 1991, The Bristol Port Company has invested over £650 million in the Port. The company started the first training qualification for port workers in the UK where they could obtain a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).[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

Mordaunt 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]

Mordaunt is a member of The Society of Merchant Venturers, a private club whose membership is invited "from individuals who have been successful in their chosen area of business".[10][11]

Philanthropy

In 2016, Mordaunt founded The Mordaunt Foundation, which provides grants to a number of regional, national and international organisations.[5]

Mordaunt previously donated £3 million to charitable causes in the South West of England, including Bristol Children’s Hospital, Wells Cathedral School, the University of Bristol, and The Outward Bound Trust.[5][12]

Mordaunt is Trustee and Director of The Outward Bound Trust, an educational charity which provides young people with opportunities to build character, resilience, and confidence through outdoor experiences.[13][5]

Since Mordaunt and his business partner Sir David Ord privatised The Bristol Port Company, it has spent over £1 million on charitable causes, primarily in the South West of England.[14]

In 2019, 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.[15]

Political activity

Mordaunt is a Patron of Conservative Way Forward, a British Thatcherite think tank.[16]

In April 2017, Mordaunt joined the board of The Global Warming Policy Foundation, a science-based educational and cross-party charity. The charity says its aim is to inspire debate about climate change. He succeeded Nigel Lawson as chairman in 2019.[17][18] In 2019, he told OpenDemocracy that, "No one has proved yet that carbon dioxide is the culprit [of climate change]. It may not be", adding that “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]

His company, First Corporate Consultants Ltd, donated £10,000 to Penny Mordaunt, a UK Member of Parliament in 2019.[19]

In 2019, The Bristol Port Company gave Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt £25,000 each for their campaigns to become the Conservative Party leader. Mordaunt and Ord have given over £640,000 to the Conservative Party since 2001.[20][21] Mordaunt was listed as the 13th biggest donor to the pro-Brexit campaign.[22]

References
  1. "Terence Charles MORDAUNT - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  2. Gogarty, Conor (2020-01-22). "The Bristol Port multi-millionaire who leads a climate sceptic group". BristolLive. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  3. "THE OUTWARD BOUND TRUST :: United Kingdom :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  4. "Our history | The Bristol Port Company". www.bristolport.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  5. "Terence Mordaunt | The Bristol Port Company". www.bristolport.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  6. Bristol, University of. "Honorary graduates - 1995-2015". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  7. "Avonmouth and Portbury Docks freehold sold for £10m". BBC News. 2015-08-04. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  8. "Pendennis reports record turnover". Marine Industry News. 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  9. "Leadership". Pendennis Shipyard. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  10. "Our Members". The Society of Merchant Venturers. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  11. "FAQ". The Society of Merchant Venturers. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  12. "University of Bristol - 2008/9 Review of the Year" (PDF).
  13. "About us". Outdoor Learning | Educational Charity | Outward Bound Trust. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  14. "In the community | The Bristol Port Company". www.bristolport.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  15. "Treasure trove of letters written by Isambard Kingdom Brunel surface in 'extremely rare' find". The Independent. 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  16. "Our Team". Forward!. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  17. Heubl, Ben (2020-01-28). "UK climate change sceptics group is stronger than ever". eandt.theiet.org. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  18. "Bristol Power List 2020". Bristol 24/7. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  19. "Penny Mordaunt MP, Portsmouth North". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  20. "Revealed: Climate change denier makes big donations to Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  21. "Tory leadership donations: who's really backing Boris Johnson". the Guardian. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  22. "Top Conservative donors hit out over fears Brexit 'will never happen'". Politics Home. 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
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