Wells Sports Foundation

Barrie John Wells is an English financial services entrepreneur and businessperson, who has set up and sold two major insurance-related businesses in his career. In 2008, so inspired by the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Wells donated £2 million to a sports athletics fund to sponsor future British athletes.

Biography

The grandson of former World Pole Vault record holder Ernest Latimer Stones, Wells was born and raised in Bootle, Liverpool and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby.

Wells set up direct home and motor insurance operation Prospero Direct, which after its sale became Axa Direct. He then setup Premierline Direct, the UK's first direct commercial insurance operation which he founded with his business partner, Philippa Rothwell; this was then sold to Allianz in 2006. Wells was also a non-executive director of Marks & Spencer Money for ten years.

A keen amateur 400m runner, Wells has travelled to every Olympic Games since 1972. He has had a box at Liverpool F.C.'s Anfield ground since 2010, which he donates for the use of seriously ill and disabled children. Wells was made an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration by Edge Hill University in 2014 and is also an Honorary Teaching Fellow at Lancaster University. He is a Patron of Alder Hey Children's Charity. In 2016 Wells was awarded the Points of Light accolade by the Prime Minister in recognition of his exceptional philanthropic work.

Wells currently actively manages a portfolio of private equity and property investments alongside his role as Chairman and sole funder of th
Barrie Wells Trust.

Barrie Wells Trust

After being inspired by a visit to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wells set up the Wells Sports Foundation, which was rebranded in 2015 as th
Barrie Wells Trust.

Wells personally funded 18 athletes in the buildup to the 2012 Olympics. He helped to make a real difference to their preparations for international sporting competitions, and experienced being part of each of the athletes' individual journeys. The first athlete sponsored was Liverpool heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Wells also created 'Athletes4Schools,' which ran from 2009 up until the London 2012 Olympics, inspiring over 35,000 children. This initiative involved many of the 18 elite athletes personally funded by Wells, visiting schools in various parts of the UK to deliver free, fun and educational workshops. The charity also supported sports clubs and schools with grants of up to £2,000 to fund initiatives that increased participation in sport. This also ended in 2012.

In 2010 Wells launched his Box4Kids initiative. Box4Kids provides once in a lifetime opportunities for seriously ill children to enjoy VIP days at major sporting and entertainment events across the UK from the luxury of executive boxes. Box4Kids initially started when Wells purchased a box at Liverpool Football Club and it has since been used solely for Box4Kids. This was so successful that Wells then approached individuals and organisations across the UK to ask for donations of boxes each year. Box4Kids now operates in 94 major venues across the UK, embracing 12 different sports and every entertainment arena in the country. Box4Kids is also the charity partner of the Jockey Club and Farnborough Airshow. With a network of 137 companies and connections with 93 different hospitals and hospices across the UK, Box4Kids has benefited over 8,000 seriously ill children and their family members. Box4Kids has also started to expand overseas starting with the Singapore Airshow.

Wells was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to seriously ill children.

Sponsored athletes and programmes

*Heptathlon: Jessica Ennis-Hill, Katarina Johnson-Thompson "(Patron)"
*Modern pentathlon: Sam Weale, Freyja Prentice
*Track & Field: Holly Bleasdale, Dai Greene, Jenny Meadows, Michael Rimmer, Matty Shirling, Stephanie Twell, Jodie Williams, Keely Hodgkinson
*Swimming: Anne Bochmann, Caitlin McClatchey, Hannah Miley, Lizzie Simmonds, Liam Tancock
*Gymnastics: Beth Tweddle
*Triathlon: Adam Bowden, Mark Buckingham, Matthew Gunby, Katie Hewison, Emma Pallant
*British Triathlon's new talent identification programme, trigold, presently covering: Adam Bowden, Charlotte Roach and Katie Ingram

References

External links

Barrie Wells TrustPremierline Business InsuranceBox4Kids 2019 Video

Financial Times , Box4Kids

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Barrie
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from Bootle
English businesspeople
British businesspeople in insurance
Athletics in the United Kingdom
English philanthropists
Members of the Order of the British Empire