John Bloor

John Stuart Bloor OBE, (born 16 June 1943)[2] is a British businessman. His business, Bloor Holdings, owns both Bloor Homes and Triumph Motorcycles.

John Bloor
Born	(1943-06-16) 16 June 1943 Derbyshire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Owner of Bloor Holdings Chairman of Bloor Homes Owner of Triumph Motorcycles Ltd
Net worth	£ 1.025 billion[1]

Career

Early life

Bloor was born in a small Derbyshire village, his father was a coal miner. He suffered from health problems, and long absences from school limited his formal education, leaving school at the age of 15.[3]

Business

Bloor's first job was as a trainee plasterer for a local building contractor. Two years later he set up his own business and began building his first house before he was 20. His building company, Bloor Homes, is now one of the largest privately owned house builders in the UK,[4] and has contributed to the successful regeneration of the East Midlands.[3] In 2002, housing sales reached 1,870 making Bloor Homes then the largest housebuilder to be owned by one man.[5]

While attending the auction of the site of the former Triumph factory to buy the site for house construction, Bloor bought the collapsed Triumph brand in 1983.[6] After sub-licensing the brand for a period, he invested over £80 million into rebuilding the marque, opening the new Hinckley factory in 1991.[7] After a factory fire in 2002 stopped production the factory was rebuilt, and now produces 46,000 motorcycles per annum.[8]

In 2016, Bloor received the Diamond Jubilee Trophy on behalf of all the staff at Triumph Motorcycles. The Trophy has only been given out four times previously.[9]

In 2019, it was reported that Bloor has paid himself £6 million in dividends, despite a 60% drop in profits at Triumph for the previous year.[10]

Personal life

Bloor lives in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire, England. Due to hip problems he rarely rides motorcycles, preferring a Range Rover.[7]

Political donations

J.S. Bloor donated £400,000 to the Conservative Party in the 2017 general election.[11][12] In the 2019 general election donations of £750,000 and £200,000 were made to the party and £12,000 to Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen.[13][14][15]

Honours

• In 1995 Bloor was awarded the OBE for services to the motorcycle industry[16]
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Leicester[3]

See also

• Triumph Engineering

References

1. "Sunday Times Rich List". The Sunday Times (34). 26 April 2014.
2. Company Director Check
3. "John Bloor". Retrieved 12 September 2008.
4. "Sunday Times Rich List". The Times. London. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
5. Wellings, Fred: Dictionary of British Housebuilders (2006) Troubador. ISBN 978-0-9552965-0-5.
6. "John Bloor £650m". Retrieved 12 September 2008.
7. Brown, Stuart F. (1 April 2002). "A Sweet Triumph". CNN. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
8. "Triumph roars back". The Times. London. 19 June 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
9. Potter, Marc (January 2016). "Triumph boss comes out of shadows to accept prestigious award". Bennetts UK. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
10. "Housing tycoon John Bloor nets £6m dividend from Bloor Investments". This is Money. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
11. "2017 UKPGE- Pre-poll donations and loans - summary document - Week 1" (PDF). Electoral Commission.
12. Watt, Holly; Syal, Rajeev (23 May 2017). "Tories' £5m donations boost before May called snap general election". The Guardian.
13. "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
14. "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
15. "Andrew Bridgen MP, North West Leicestershire". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
16. "Businessman and Entrepreneur to be Honoured by University". Retrieved 12 September 2008.