Leonard Sainer (12 October 1909 – 30 September 1991) enjoyed two very successful careers, as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and a retailer. He attended the

Central Foundation Boys' School ''(By hope, by work, by faith)'' , established = 1865 , closed = , type = Voluntary aided school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , ...

. After education at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, he became a solicitor in 1933. He was a founding partner of the firm of Titmuss Sainer and Webb in 1938. One of his previous clients,

Charles Clore Sir Charles Clore (26 December 1904 – 26 July 1979) was a British financier, retail and property magnate, and philanthropist. Life and career Clore was of Lithuanian Jewish background, the son of Israel Clore, a Whitechapel tailor who had emi ...

, had been so impressed by him that he transferred his legal work to the new firm. Sainer worked closely with Clore in developing his retail activities, eventually helping him to set up

Sears plc Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999. History The business was founded by John and Willi ...

. Following the death of Titmuss, Sainer became senior partner and remained so until 1978, when he became a consultant. During this time, Titmuss Sainer and Webb had become one of the largest solicitor's firms in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and was regarded as the best firm for retail property transactions. In 1978, Sainer succeeded Clore as Chairman of Sears plc. He retired in 1985, becoming its life president. From 1964 to 1989, he was a trustee of the Clore Foundation. The Leonard Sainer Trust was established by his will. It sponsors several charitable activities, such as the Leonard Sainer Centre in Ilford for children with special needs.

References

1909 births 1991 deaths People educated at Central Foundation Boys' School Alumni of University College London English Jews {{UK-law-bio-stub