Michael Alan Spencer, Baron Spencer of Alresford (born 30 May 1955), sometimes known as "Spens",
is a British billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of
NEX Group
NEX Group plc, formerly known as ICAP plc, is a UK-based business focused on electronic financial markets and post trade business for other financial institutions rather than private individuals. They are known as an inter-broker dealer. The ...
, a UK-based business focused on electronic markets and post-trade business which was acquired by
CME Group
CME Group Inc. (Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, New York Mercantile Exchange, The Commodity Exchange) is an American global markets company. It is the world's largest financial derivatives exchange, and trades in asset clas ...
in November 2018. NEX Group was formerly known as ICAP, until the sale of its voice-broking business to
Tullett Prebon in December 2016.
Spencer was described in 2018 as the richest self-made person in the City of London and a "City grandee".
[ ] According to the ''
Sunday Times Rich List
The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday n ...
'' in 2021, he is worth an estimated £1.2 billion. He was awarded a peerage in August 2020 in the Political Honours List.
Education
Spencer was born in
British Malaya
The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. ...
. His father was an economist and international civil servant, his mother a linguist. During Spencer's early childhood, his family moved from his birth country to Sudan and then Ethiopia. Aged eight, he was sent to England to board, latterly at
Worth School
Worth may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Worth, Georgia
* Worth County, Georgia
* Worth, Illinois
* Worth Township, Cook County, Illinois
* Worth Township, Woodford County, Illinois
* Worth Township, Indiana
* Worth Township, Michigan
* ...
in
Sussex. He read physics at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 1 ...
, after which he considered becoming an
astrophysicist.
Spencer is an Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and an Honorary Doctor of Loughborough University.
Early career
In 1976, he joined city broker Simon and Coates. In 1981, he joined
Drexel Burnham, rising to Vice President before being fired for trading errors. From 1983 to 1986 he was a Director at futures firm Charles Fulton; when that firm floated, Spencer used £50,000 from his proceeds to co-found his first business, along with three colleagues.
[ ]
ICAP
Spencer co-founded Intercapital Brokers in 1986.
[ Over its 20 years as a listed company, its total shareholder return was close to 6,000 per cent.]
Intercapital was the first to launch a real-time screen that displayed live prices.[ In 1998, it was acquired by Exco in a ]reverse takeover
A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public com ...
, and the enlarged business was renamed Intercapital. In 1999, the company merged with Garban to create Garban-Intercapital, the largest inter-dealer broker in the world, with more than 5,000 employees across 63 offices. Garban renamed itself ICAP in 2001 (its full name did not fit on trading screens, hence the abbreviation to ICAP).[
Functioning as an inter-dealer broker, ICAP brought together large financial institutions in search of buyers and sellers for corporate and government bonds, foreign currency, commodities and other financial products. The firm collected commissions and connected clients via its electronic trading platforms. In 2006 ICAP entered the ]FTSE 100
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest market ...
, one of few companies to do so with a founder CEO.
Following the sale of its voice broking business to banking firm Tullett Prebon in December 2016, ICAP was renamed NEX Group, while Tullett Prebon became TP ICAP. Spencer sold the majority of his stake in TP ICAP in January 2017. He remains CEO and largest shareholder of Nex Group, as of February 2017.
In February 2010, Spencer made £45m from the sale of ICAP shares weeks before the company issued a profit warning A profit warning is a warning declaration issued by a listed company to investors through a stock exchange. It warns investors that the profit of the company in the coming quarter will significantly decline when compared with that of the same qua ...
that resulted in a 16% fall in the firm's share price.
In September 2013, ICAP was implicated in the global Libor interest rate scandal and fined $87m (£54m) by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options.
The Commodity Exchange Act ...
and Britain's Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financ ...
. In March 2014, British prosecutors filed charges against three former ICAP employees for their role in the affair. They were among a global group of finance professionals to be investigated, including staff from Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
, UBS, Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
and RP Martin. In January 2016 the three ICAP employees were unanimously acquitted in the UK; the US Department of Justice dropped charges against the trio in July 2016. Spencer was not implicated but issued a public apology on behalf of ICAP.
In March 2018, NEX announced an approach by CME Group further to a proposed acquisition. CME Group offered £3.8bn in a cash-and-share deal, valuing Spencer's stake at approximately £668m. By the time the deal was completed in November 2018, Spencer's stake had grown to over £700m, half of which he received in cash, raising his net worth to over £1bn.[ As a listed company, NEX's total shareholder return was close to 6,000 per cent.][ Spencer serves as a CME Group Board Member and Special Advisor.
]
IPGL and other business interests
Spencer holds stakes in numerous public and private companies.
Finance investments
In 1997, Spencer purchased a controlling interest in spread betting firm City Index Group, acquiring his stake from the firm's founders. City Index was later sold for $118m to financial services company GAIN Capital
GAIN Capital is a US-based provider of online trading services, headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey, Bedminster, New Jersey. The company provides market access and trade execution services in forex, foreign exchange, Contract For Difference, c ...
, netting Spencer more than $80m.
He is Chairman, director and majority shareholder in IPGL, a private holding company making investments on behalf of Spencer and other family trusts. He is an early-stage investor in Temple Grange Partners, a consultancy that finds compliance specialists for financial markets. He is a co-owner of Exotix, a frontier markets investment banking boutique. He has led investment rounds in various fintech firms, including biometric
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify ...
authentication firm Veridium, file regeneration technology firm Glasswall Solutions and FX data analytics firm Tradefeedr.
In 2018, he became Chairman and majority shareholder of investment firm FCFM. He is an investor in Viewforth Investment Partners, a London-based hedge fund focusing on mid-cap European securities.
In 2021, Spencer became cornerstone investor in a $130m venture capital fund at Element Ventures, focusing on b2b financial enterprise technology. Spencer is the largest outside investor in Netwealth, a UK-based wealth management business. He also holds stakes in payment platform Klarna
Klarna Bank AB, commonly referred to as Klarna, is a Swedish fintech company that provides online financial services such as payments for online storefronts and direct payments along with post-purchase payments.
The company has more than 4,00 ...
, wealth manager AJ Bell and online investment advisor Nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus '' Myristica''. '' Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, ...
.
Spencer is a former chairman of stockbroker Numis Securities. In 2019 he built up a 6% stake in the company.
In 2017, Spencer invested £54m in Singapore Life, an online savings platform for Singaporean and Asian markets. In 2020 his investment was reported to have doubled in value, upon the sale of Aviva's majority stake in the platform.
He believes in a long-term role for cryptocurrencies
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It ...
. He opposes MiFID II and has campaigned against tax surcharges on UK bank profits.
Spencer is an investor in Martin Gilbert's AssetCo.
Other investments
Spencer owns a stake in Cluff Natural Resources, an energy resources investor.
In 2011, Spencer was made Chairman of Bordeaux Index, the online wine trading exchange in which he is an investor. He also holds a stake in English wine maker Chapel Down.
He is the owner of Sirai House, a commercial lodge in Kenya. He is reportedly an investor in British bookmaker The Tote
The Tote is a British gambling company which is the largest pool betting operator in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Wigan, England, its main products are sports betting and online casino. Founded in 1928, the company was owned by the ...
.
Spencer is also an investor in various start-ups, including female health startup Elvie, human longevity firm Juvenescence and mobile gaming firm Probability. In 2020 Spencer led a funding round for Superdielectrics, a firm developing technology to build supercapacitor energy storage for electric vehicles.
Politics
Spencer served as Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 2006 to 2010, during which time the party's finances moved from a deficit of £8m into a surplus of £75m. In 2020, he became Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies
The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independ ...
, the think tank and pressure group founded by Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
. He is also Chairman of the Conservative Party Foundation, a company established to strengthen the financial future of the Conservative Party.
Spencer has been a donor to the Conservative Party. In 2012 it was reported that he maintained personal contact with the then Prime Minister David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
. ICAP and Spencer have made £4.6m in donations to the party although Spencer was critical of the May government's business policies; he has not donated to the party since the 2017 UK general election. Spencer was nominated for a peerage in Cameron's resignation honours list for charity fundraising and service to the Conservative Party while its treasurer, but reportedly, his nomination was blocked by the Cabinet Office.
Spencer has been reported to favour positive discrimination employment policies for women but is against gender-based employment quotas since he believes that they wrongly presuppose prejudice by all male employers. He has criticised the British government's pay gap review as a distraction from Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAE ...
. Spencer was among the first to employ female brokers in the City.[
He voted for the UK to remain in the EU. He later said that he had long been undecided on the issue and that his Remain vote was cast without "great angelical zeal".] He has spoken of becoming a cheerleader for enterprise after the sale of NEX.[
He was nominated for a life peerage in the ]2020 Political Honours
As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours, political honours and other honours awarded o ...
and created Baron Spencer of Alresford, ''of Alresford in the County of Hampshire'' on 17 September./ He made his maiden speech in November 2021, a year after he entered the Lords.
Awards and recognition
* ''Entrepreneur of the Year'' at CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...
's European Business Leader Awards (2007)
* ''Judges Special Award'', Beacon Fellowship Prize (2007)
* 2010 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year. Spencer was chosen from over 50 country finalists.
* Queen's Award for International Trade (2005 and 2011)
* Institutional Investor's ''World's Top 50 Financial Technologists'' (number 13) (2016)
* ''Lifetime Achievement Award'', Futures & Options World (2016)
Philanthropy
In 1993, Spencer founded the ICAP Charity Day, an annual event in which royalty and celebrities man the trading desks at ICAP and the broking firm donates the day's revenue to charities. As of February 2017, the event has raised over £140 million and backed 2,200 charitable projects. He has said that the Charity Day is his proudest achievement in business, alongside breaking into the FTSE100 with ICAP.[
Various public individuals have manned the phones for Charity Day, including ]Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educa ...
and Kate Middleton, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the a ...
, Mo Farah
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...
, Chris Hoy
Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and Racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games.
Hoy is eleven-times a w ...
, George W. Bush, Samantha Cameron
Samantha Gwendoline Cameron (; born 18 April 1971) is an English businesswoman. Until 13 May 2010, she was the creative director of Smythson of Bond Street. Her husband, David Cameron, was the British prime minister from 2010 to 2016. She took ...
, Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars ...
, Tom Hardy, Halle Berry, Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to ' ...
, and Chris Hemsworth
Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series '' Home and Away'' (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinem ...
.
Spencer is a founder and trustee of the Borana Conservation Trust, a charity which supports critically endangered species in Kenya's Borana and Laikipia regions.
The Spencer Family Foundation has backed a number of philanthropic initiatives, including a £1 million donation toward the British Normandy Memorial
The British Normandy Memorial is a war memorial near the village of Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. It was unveiled on 6 June 2021, the 77th anniversary of D-Day, and it is dedicated to soldiers who died under British command during the Norm ...
, dedicated to soldiers who died under British command during the Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
. The Foundation also donated £100,000 to the ''Remember Me'' Covid memorial at St Paul's and a six-figure sum to the Mail Force campaign for PPE for hospitals, care homes and charities.
Personal life
In 2008, Spencer divorced his first wife Lorraine. They had two sons and a daughter, and homes in Notting Hill, Suffolk and Manhattan.
In June 2016, Spencer married Sarah, Marchioness of Milford Haven in London, the daughter of George Alfred Walker and Jean Maureen (''née'' Hatton), and former wife of George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven – a second cousin of King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
.
Spencer has homes in Chelsea, London, and Kenya. '' Who's Who'' lists his hobbies as running, riding, shooting, wine and art; he is also reported to be an aviation enthusiast. Spencer runs a horse-breeding programme and plans to build a stable in Laikipia. His horse Freewheeler, a South African-bred colt, won the 2018 Kenya Derby at Ngong.[
He collects twentieth century and contemporary art, including the work of ]Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...
, Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...
and Jack Vettriano.[ Spencer is a former shareholder and an associate director of Ipswich Town Football Club. He is a Christian and churchgoer.][
Spencer is a member of several London clubs, including ]White's
White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is the oldest gentleman's club in London. It moved to its current premises on St James's Street in 1778.
Status
White's is the old ...
, Beefsteak Club
Beefsteak Club is the name or nickname of several 18th- and 19th-century male dining clubs in Britain and Australia that celebrated the beefsteak as a symbol of patriotic and often Whig concepts of liberty and prosperity.
The first beefsteak clu ...
, 5 Hertford Street and 67 Pall Mall, as well as Muthaiga Country Club in Kenya.
References
External links
Big beast of the City hooked on the buzz of the markets
The Observer, 14 May 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Michael
1955 births
Living people
20th-century British businesspeople
21st-century British businesspeople
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
British financial businesspeople
British financiers
British company founders
British technology company founders
British investors
British venture capitalists
Charity fundraisers (people)
Conservative Party (UK) donors
Conservative Party (UK) people
English businesspeople
English financial businesspeople
English financial company founders
English philanthropists
Life peers
People educated at Worth School
Life peers created by Elizabeth II