Michael Spencer

For other people named Michael Spencer, see Michael Spencer (disambiguation).

Michael Alan Spencer (born 30 May 1955, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a British businessman; the chief executive of ICAP plc, the world's leading interdealer broker. He was also the owner of spread betting firm City Index until 2014.

In the Sunday Times Rich List 2012 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 162nd with an estimated fortune of £510 million.

Biography

Spencer was educated at the Worth Abbey Benedictine (OSB) School, Sussex and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he studied physics.

Career

While still a student, he made £30,000 dealing in shares, and then worked at Drexel Burnham. Fired from there for trading errors, he resolved to establish his own empire and Spencer founded Intercapital Private Group Limited in 1986.

In 1998 it was acquired by Exco plc in a reverse takeover and the enlarged business was renamed Intercapital plc.[1] In 1999, the company merged with Garban plc to create Garban-Intercapital plc,[2] which renamed itself ICAP plc in 2001.[2] Spencer remains CEO.

In March 2007 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the European Business Leader Awards. In November 2007, he was awarded the Beacon Fellowship Prize for setting up ICAP's Charity Day.[3]

Michael Spencer was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 at an awards ceremony held on Saturday 5th June, in Monte Carlo's Salle des Etoiles. Mr Spencer was picked from among the more than 50 country finalists vying for the title, each of whom had already been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in their home countries. The 2010 awards ceremony marks the tenth consecutive year the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year has been held.

Politics

Spencer stood down as treasurer and member of the board of the Conservative Party in October 2010.[4]

On 26 March, 2012, Spencer was named as a donor to the Conservative Party who has had a private dinner with the Prime Minister David Cameron. Peter Cruddas, the then Tory co-treasurer was filmed boasting that large donations to the party could secure access to the prime minister. Spencer along with business partner David Rowland were revealed to have donated more than £2m to the party in 2010.[5]

Personal life

Spencer has homes in Holland Park, London, Suffolk, Manhattan and Knightsbridge, London.

Spencer is an art collector with a twentieth century and contemporary collection, including the work of Lucian Freud and Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. He is a shareholder and an associate director of Ipswich Town Football Club, but has little interest in football.

References

  1. ↑ Numis Corporation Board Changes
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 ICAP History
  3. ↑ 2007 Beacon Prize Winners, Beacon Fellowship. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_the_Board/Spencer_Michael.aspx
  5. ↑ David Cameron publishes list of all donors dining at No 10 - BBC news - 26 March 2012

External links