Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth

Ceawlin Henry Laszlo Thynn, Viscount Weymouth (born 6 June 1974) is a British businessman and the second child of Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath and his wife, Anna Gael Gyarmathy.^[1] He is involved in a number of companies in the leisure, tourism, real estate and financial services sectors.^[2]

Early life

Ceawlin (pronounced See-aw-lin) Thynn attended Horningsham Primary School and Kingdown Comprehensive School in Warminster, Bedales School in Hampshire, and read economics and philosophy at University College London.^[3]

In 1996, he was injured in a building collapse in Paharganj, New Delhi,^[4] which killed his fiancée, Jane Kirby, and his business partner, Crinan Wilde. The viscount blamed the resulting deafness when he was charged with disturbing his neighbours by playing loud music in 2010.^[5]

Business

Ceawlin Thynn began his business career as an emerging markets specialist at the London investment bank Caspian Securities, before becoming a partner in Sabre Projects – a real estate development firm.^[6] At Sabre he put together a project with Group Menatep, the holding company of Russia’s then-largest oil company, Yukos, to develop an internationally branded mid-market hotel in every major city in Russia.^[7][8]

In 2008, he formed The Lion Trust, a private equity vehicle of which he is the principal.^[9] The Lion Trust invests in a range of mature and emerging markets.^[10][11]

Since June 2010, Ceawlin Thynn has been a director at Finmetron AB, a Swedish listed firm offering factoring services in Russia.^[12][13][14]

In 2010, Ceawlin Thynn became Executive Chairman of Wombat's Holdings GmbH – a chain of hostels in Germany and Austria – having acquired a majority stake in the company.^[15][16][17] Wombat’s hostels were voted the best in the world by customers of Hostelworld in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.^[18] In 2010, the Wombat’s City Hostel in Vienna won a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of ‘twelve years of unparalleled service’.^[19] The existing offering includes three units in Vienna comprising a total of nearly 1,000 beds, one unit in Berlin with 350 beds, one unit in Munich with 300 beds and one unit in Budapest with over 400 beds.^[20][21] The company is now preparing to expand into other major European cities, including London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Prague and Rome.^[22]

Longleat

In January 2009, Ceawlin Thynn became chairman of Longleat Enterprises, a limited company which comprises operations at Longleat House and Safari Park on the family estate of Longleat, near Warminster in Wiltshire, as well as the commercial activities at Cheddar Gorge, in the Mendip Hills in Somerset.^[23][24][25] Following Lord Bath’s retirement in 2010, Ceawlin Thynn hired a new Chief Executive – David Bradley, formerly of Legoland.^[26][27] Together they have planned hired designers from Hollywood to develop new attractions in addition to the Safari Park including the ‘Jungle Kingdom’, ‘Monkey Temple’ & ‘Hunters of the Sky’.^[28][29]

Thynn and his father are trustees of the Longleat Charitable Trust, a registered charity in the United Kingdom.^[30][31] The Trust was established in 1996 and has focused charitable activity on relieving poverty amongst people living around the Longleat Estate and Cheddar Gorge, supporting local pensioners with their fuel bills. The Longleat Charitable trust also provides grants to local schools and churches, including the recent refurbishment of the village hall.

Marriage

In November 2012, at age 38, the Viscount announced his engagement to actress and TV chef Emma McQuiston (born 1986), daughter of Mrs Suzanna McQuiston by a relationship with Oxford-educated Nigerian businessman Oladipo (Ladi) Jadesimi,^[32] of Lagos, Nigeria.

His fiancee is a much younger half-sister of Iain McQuiston (born circa 1962), husband of Lord Weymouth's half-aunt, Lady Silvy Cerne Thynne (daughter of Ceawlin's paternal grandfather the 6th Marquess of Bath by his second wife).^[33][34] She was a bridesmaid at that wedding and has known her future husband since she was four years old.^[35]

The couple married at Longleat House on 8 June 2013. ^[36] On 26 October 2014, the Viscountess gave birth to the couple's first child, the Hon. John Alexander Ladi Thynn. ^[37]

References