The multi-millionaire has admitted giving a ‘small amount’ to Reform shortly after Nigel Farage appointed him Scottish party leader.
Malcolm Offord is facing demands to “come clean” over his mystery donation to Reform and whether it bought him the party leadership in Scotland.
It comes after the multi-millionaire admitted giving a “small amount” shortly after Nigel Farage appointed him to the position which will guarantee a Scottish Parliament seat.
We can also reveal accounts for Offord’s former private equity company Badenoch & Co show it only had three or four staff despite his claims on a TV debate to have employed “hundreds of thousands of people” during his business career.
Lord Offord, who was previously a major Tory donor before being handed a seat in the Lords, boasted last week how his business success had allowed him to buy “six houses, five cars and six boats”.
Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chair Wendy Chamberlain said: “It looks like Lord Offord has bought himself six houses, five cars and six boats and the leadership of one political party.
“He should come clean about how much money he has given Nigel Farage and what he was promised for his money.”
It comes as Reform UK chief Farage is embroiled in his own donation scandal after failing to disclose a £5million bung from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Offord was at the centre of a cronyism row in Boris Johnson’s government in 2022 when he was made a Conservative peer and given a role as a junior minister.
He had given more than £150,000 to the Tories in political donations.
In December, Offord was unveiled by Farage at a Reform rally in Falkirk as the party’s latest recruit, with the Greenock-born businessman declaring he was renouncing his peerage.
He told the Sunday Mail at the time he had not donated to Reform and refused to say if he would in future.
The following month, he was appointed by Farage as the party’s leader in Scotland, ahead of the Holyrood election.
With Reform challenging Scottish Labour for second place in the polls and Offord top of the list of Reform candidates in the West Scotland region, he is near-certain to become an MSP on May 7.#
The Sunday Mail has approached Offord directly, and Reform, with detailed questions about his donation and an interview offer.
These questions included:
● How much have you donated to Reform and when did you donate it?
● Do you intend to donate more?
● When did you first agree with the party that a donation would be made?
● Was this a deal you made with Farage when you joined Reform and became its Scots leader?
●How do you respond to claims you may have bought your way into Reform and a guaranteed seat in the Scottish Parliament as a party leader?
● Do you think there is too much opportunity for the rich to gain political influence in the UK?
Offord and Reform have failed to respond, leaving voters in the dark five days before going to the polls about how much the millionaire has given his own party.
In last week’s STV debate, Offord launched into strident defence of his personal wealth, telling viewers: “I went to London 40 years ago with £2000 in debt and full of ambition. I worked hard, and I was successful. Today, I own six houses, five cars and six boats. In a 40-year business career, I’ve employed hundreds of thousands of people and paid £45million in tax.”
The 61-year-old started his career in corporate finance in the 1980s and spent 16 years as a partner at private equity investment firm Charterhouse Capital Partners, leaving in 2013. He then founded his own company, Edinburgh-based Badenoch & Co.
But the firm’s filing history shows that in 2020 and 2021 – Offord’s two final years before leaving to enter politics – he employed three and four people respectively.
Chamberlain added: “Lord Offord claimed to have employed hundreds of thousands but his investment firm didn’t employ anything like that.
“Is he slyly including every firm he ever took a stake in? Or is this a complete fib?”
Private equity firms are notorious for taking stakes in companies using high levels of debt before ruthlessly cost cutting and then selling them on. They often target businesses they feel they can make a quick profit on via restructuring and lay-offs.
A 2024 analysis found one in five private equity-owned companies go bankrupt within 10 years of acquisition.
Offord has also been challenged –including by John Swinney – to release his tax returns after his claim of paying £45million. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “Lord Offord has gone awfully quiet after a lot of big talk earlier this week
“If Lord Offord can find the time to brag about his fleet of yachts he can find the time to answer some basic questions about his claims.
“The truth is this out of touch Tory tribute act cannot deliver the change Scotland needs – they can only help the SNP. Don’t let Lord Offord buy your vote.”
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