Robert Tchenguiz
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Robert Tchenguiz (born 9 September 1960) is a British
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
, property investor, activist shareholder and
securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
dealer. The younger brother of
Vincent Tchenguiz Vincent Tchenguiz (born 9 October 1956) is an Iranian-British entrepreneur born in Tehran. Robert Tchenguiz is his younger brother. Tchenguiz is known as a major donor to the Conservative Party (UK) and an investor in the controversial company ...
, he undertook a series of corporate deals, focusing particularly on property assets associated with UK pub and supermarket chains, during the 2000s. However, the value of some of his investments plunged during the
financial crisis of 2007–08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
, exacerbated by the collapse of his major financial backer,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
's
Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank ( is, Kaupþing banki; ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic ...
. He and his brother's businesses were also the target of a UK Serious Fraud Office enquiry, and of various lawsuits.


Early life

Tchenguiz was born in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, to an
Iraqi-Jewish The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mo ...
family, the son of Victor and Violet Khadouri.The Daily Telegraph: "Lisa Tchenguiz and Vivian Imerman: profiles"
January 22, 2010
His family left Iraq in 1948 and settled in Iran, where his father, a jeweller, worked for the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
and ran the country's
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
. He also changed the family surname from Khadouri to Tchenguiz. In 1979 the family moved to England after the
Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
. He has one brother, Vincent Tchenguiz, and one sister, Lisa Tchenguiz (formerly married to BBC Radio 1 disc jockey, Gary Davies and then to South African-born Del Monte CEO, Vivian Imerman).


Career

Starting with an investment in a Hammersmith office block, the Tchenguiz family established Rotch Property Group, a highly leveraged business that "typically buys properties let long-term to blue-chip clients" and "relies on property values rising in a low-interest-rate environment". In a booming real estate market, they also applied an American financial engineering strategy of securitization: borrowing large sums against future cashflows from company assets, enabling them to access more debt, and on better terms (and much of it - reportedly over £2 billion - from
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
's
Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank ( is, Kaupþing banki; ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic ...
), than had been thought possible. Other businesses included the R20 investment vehicle and investment company London & Boston.


High street and pub chain investments

In 2001, the Tchenguiz brothers and Vivian Imerman, supported by a £190 million loan from German investment bank
WestLB WestLB AG (derived from ''Westdeutsche Landesbank'', i.e. "Western German state Bank") was a European commercial bank based in Düsseldorf, Germany which was mainly owned by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Landesbanks are a group of pa ...
, backed a 2001 management buyout of distiller
Whyte & Mackay Whyte & Mackay is a company producing alcoholic beverages based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Emperador Inc. (a subsidiary of the Alliance Global Group). History Charles Mackay (1850–1919) and James Whyte founded a company as whisky ...
(in 2005 they bought remaining interests in the firm before selling the company to India-based
United Spirits Limited United Spirits Limited, abbreviated to USL, is an Indian alcoholic beverages company, and the world's second-largest spirits company by volume. It is a subsidiary of Diageo, and headquartered at UB Tower in Bangalore, Karnataka. USL exports i ...
for £595 million in 2007).ES Magazine: The grapes of wrath" by Mark Hollingsworth
/ref> Also in 2001, Robert Tchenguiz tabled a £310 million bid for
Shell Mex House Shell Mex House, also known as 80 Strand, is a grade II listed building located at number 80 Strand in London, England. The building was opened in 1932 on the site of the Hotel Cecil and stands behind the original façade of the hotel, between ...
, a 1930s
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
building overlooking the Thames next to London's
Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August ...
, and in 2003 bid to buy London's
Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridg ...
but later (July 2003) withdrew his offer before launching bids to buy the Pubmaster pub chain and the Odeon cinema chain. After selling his Pubmaster stake to
Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constit ...
, in 2004 he established the Globe Pub Company and acquired 364 pubs from
Spirit Group Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
, in a deal worth £345 million, and also bought the Laurel Pub Company for £150 million. In 2005 he bought the
Yates's Yates is a British pub chain. It was founded as Yates's Wine Lodge in Oldham, Lancashire by Peter and Simon Yates in 1884. History Yates is Britain's oldest pub chain. Its motto was ''moderation is true temperance''. The founders, brother ...
high street bar group for £200 million and then spent £80 million for 98 pubs from the SFI Group, which operated the
Slug and Lettuce Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington i ...
chain. Also in 2005, he was part of a consortium targeting the
Somerfield Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operati ...
supermarket chain. In 2006, he led a consortium targeting the
Mitchells & Butlers Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
pub chain, and while the initial bid was rebuffed, Tchenguiz continued to pursue M&B in 2007 only for M&B management to postpone a proposed property joint venture due to a
credit crunch A credit crunch (also known as a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit cr ...
heralding the
financial crisis of 2007–08 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
. Deteriorating market conditions saw £225 million wiped off the value of Tchenguiz's investments in a single day in November 2007, and by January 2008, collapsed corporate deals and plunging stock market values were reported to have cut the paper value of three Tchenguiz investments (M&B, supermarket chain
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...
and computer games publisher
SCi Entertainment SCi Entertainment Group plc (formerly The Sales Curve Limited and SCi (Sales Curve Interactive) Limited) was a British video game publisher based in London. The company was founded in 1988 by Jane Cavanagh and floated on the stock exchange in 1 ...
) by over £560m in less than 12 weeks. In March 2008, Tchenguiz's Laurel Pub Company collapsed into
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
, but around 239 of pubs and restaurants were immediately acquired from the administrators in a deal financed by between £50 million and £60 million of credit provided by Tchenguiz. He continued to build his stake in M&B in May 2008, but was reportedly sitting on a hefty loss as M&B shares, once trading at nearly 900 p, had fallen to 344 p. In May 2008, Tchenguiz - holding 27% of the company's shares - got M&B agreement to place property interests into a tax-efficient
real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...
once credit market conditions were favourable for refinancing.


Financial losses

In October 2008, under pressure from Kaupthing Bank, which had backed many of Tchenguiz's investments, he was forced to sell off holdings in M&B, Sainsbury's, SCi Entertainment and other businesses, incurring substantial losses estimated at over £800 million. And in February 2009, Kaupthing announced it was suing Oscatello Investments, a
British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...
-based holding company controlled by Tchenguiz, in relation to an unpaid overdraft of £643m. In May 2009, Kaupthing followed up with a £180 million claim against Tchenguiz for proceeds from the sale of Somerfield, eventually settled in June 2010 with the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust surrendering control of £137 million to Kaupthing's administrators. Meanwhile, in April 2009, Tchenguiz's Globe Pub Company faced administration after defaulting on a loan payment; the chain's 421 outlets were bought from the receivers by
Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Feb ...
in October 2009.


SFO and other legal disputes

In the wake of the collapse of Kaupthing Bank, Robert Tchenguiz was suspected of fraudulent dealings and was arrested in a dawn raid in 2011; however, the investigation ended in 2012 with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) citing "insufficient evidence", and no indictment was ever brought. In fact, Tchenguiz lost millions of pounds in Kaupthing's collapse. Robert Tchenguiz sued the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for false imprisonment and damages to his businesses. Due to mishandling of the inquiry, the court had already ordered the SFO to pay 80% of Robert Tchenguiz's legal expenses in the matter. In 2014 the SFO settled with Tchenguiz for £1.5 million. However, Tchenguiz also took legal action against
Grant Thornton Grant Thornton is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to private ...
and partners at the firm who he claimed had misled the SFO into investigating him and brother Vincent, though the dispute reportedly also created a rift between the brothers due to a legal row over administration of the Tchenguiz Family Trust; main beneficiary Vincent was accused by Robert of making false representations "of a serious nature" about him to Grant Thornton. The court action was eventually discontinued by Robert Tchenguiz in October 2018. The judge said all defendants could leave the court "with their reputation completely intact" as Tchenguiz's allegations had "completely failed"; while the court could not compel Tchenguiz to apologise, "it records unequivocally that it is warranted." However, Tchenguiz said "I am definitely not providing an apology." A legal dispute relating to
Investec Investec is an Anglo-South African international banking and wealth management group. It provides a range of financial products and services to a client base in Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Investec is dual-listed on the London S ...
Trust Guernsey's handling of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust ended in an April 2018 judgement in favour of the Guernsey-based business, with Tchenguiz threatened with loss of his Kensington home, formerly housing the
Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...
, as a result - though this threat was later reported to have been resolved. In July 2018, Robert Tchenguiz was said by a High Court judge to have lied regarding a €2 billion Santander Bank deal in a dispute involving Edgeworth Capital, a Tchenguiz-owned
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
-registered company, and Aabar Investments, an Abu Dhabi investment business. Finding in favour of Aabar, the judge said Tchenguiz was "prepared to say whatever he thought would assist Edgeworth's case, without any regard for its truth."


Resumption of activist shareholder activities

In September 2019, Tchenguiz sold one of his properties, the
Quarry House Quarry Hill is an area of central Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road in the east and north and the Leeds – York / Hull railway in the south. The area falls within the City and Hunslet ward of Leeds Ci ...
office building in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, to
Legal & General Legal & General Group plc, commonly known as Legal & General, is a British multinational financial services and asset management company headquartered in London, England. Its products and services include investment management, lifetime mortg ...
for £246 million, part of an effort to raise funds to invest in new UK properties. During 2019, Tchenguiz built up a substantial shareholding in bus and rail company
FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. In December 2019, FirstGroup announced it was considering a sale of its north American businesses, leading Tchenguiz, holding 4.7% of the company, to claim a shareholders victory. However, following the March 2020 stock market crash due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Tchnenguiz's £28 million stake in the group was sold. It was later reported that his investment had been funded by loans from City brokers including Intertrader,
IG Group IG Group is an online trading provider with 290,000 active traders, offering access to spread betting and CFD trading, which allow traders to bet on the direction of equities, bonds and currencies without owning the underlying assets. Establis ...
and CMC Markets, who called in the loans then sold the shares after Tchenguiz did not repay the loans. CMC began legal action against Tchenguiz for repayment of a £1.1 million debt. In July 2022, the High Court ordered Tchenguiz to pay £1.31 million to CMC; Tchenguiz planned to appeal against the ruling. Also in November 2019, Tchenguiz campaigned to restructure AIM-listed real estate lender Urban Exposure in which his company, R20 Advisory, had built a 12.6% stake. In March 2020, under pressure from Tchenguiz, Urban Exposure was set to break itself up and sell its constituent parts. In May 2020, Tchenguiz submitted plans to
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
to convert the former headquarters of
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
( Leconfield House in
Curzon Street Curzon Street is located within the Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district; the eastern end is north-east of Green Park underground station. It is within the City of Westminster, running ...
, Mayfair) into a 65-bedroom private members' hotel. Tchenguiz had bought the building for his Rotch property business in 2004 for about £140 million. The council, backed by the Planning Inspectorate, refused his plans, and in October 2022 Tchenguiz lodged an appeal.


Personal life

Tchenguiz once dated model
Caprice Bourret Caprice Bourret (born October 24, 1971) is an American businesswoman, singer, model, actress, and television personality. She lives in London where she runs her company, By Caprice. Early life and education Bourret attended the co-ed Cathol ...
and was close to Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2005, he married his longtime girlfriend, American Heather Bird; they have two children. Though separated, they lived in different parts of the same house by the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London. His girlfriend, Julia Dybowska, also lived in the house. Details about his domestic arrangements were described in a May 2018
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary ''The Rise and Fall of the Playboy Billionaire'', prompting Tchenguiz to threaten legal action against the BBC, and to appoint former
Bell Pottinger Bell Pottinger Private (legally BPP Communications Ltd.) was a British multinational public relations, reputation management and marketing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. On 12 September 2017 it went into administration (bankr ...
CEO James Henderson as his PR advisor. In January 2018, Robert Tchenguiz was reported to have been on the invitation list to a controversial Presidents Club dinner in London. Tchenguiz and Bird divorced in 2019. Bird took their two children to see her family in the US in late 2020 and did not return, prompting Tchenguiz to start legal action under the Hague Convention alleging Bird had abducted the children. In December 2021, Bird defended her actions in a filing at the district
Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
division court in
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
, saying their 14-year-old son feared returning to the UK because he would be forced to have sex with a prostitute to "make him a man". Bird also said her son had witnessed what she described as "years of intense psychological abuse" by Tchenguiz. In March 2022, Tchenguiz won a court ruling against
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
after anti-terrorism traffic arrangements near the Royal Albert Hall restricted access to his home. The High Court ruled that the measures unduly interfered with Tchenguiz's private life as they prevented visitors to his home by car between noon and midnight. Tchenguiz owns a
superyacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
, ''My Little Violet'', built by
Abeking & Rasmussen Abeking & Rasmussen (A&R) is a shipyard situated in Lemwerder, near Bremen in the German state of Lower Saxony. The shipyard is on the left bank of the River Weser, and currently comprises five production halls with associated workshops and offi ...
and moored in
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tchenguiz, Robert 1960 births Living people People from Tehran British businesspeople British Jews Iranian Jews Iraqi Jews Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United Kingdom Iranian people of Iraqi descent