Cayman Islands hedge fund donated £4m to Labour days after election called! B
Party accepted contribution just before election campaign rules – which require weekly declarations – came into force
A Cayman Islands hedge fund handed Labour its largest-ever donation just days after the general election was called, it has emerged.
Quadrature Capital Limited, whose parent company is based in the Caribbean tax haven, donated £4 million to Sir Keir Starmer’s war chest.
Labour accepted the donation just before campaign rules kicked in requiring parties to make weekly declarations during the election period.
The disclosures come as No 10 is embroiled in a row over the scale of gifts handed to frontbenchers including the Prime Minister and Chancellor. Downing Street is also facing growing questions over its reliance on a handful of large donors and the potential influence they could wield.
Quadrature Capital is registered in central London and invests on behalf of Quadrature Group, whose funds are Cayman Islands-based.
In a statement, the company said it had chosen to support Labour because of the party’s “commitment to the green transition of the economy”.
“Having analysed commitments set out by each party, we donated £4 million to the Labour Party, in support of policies that will deliver climate action while also promoting social equity and economic resilience,” it said.
“This was a values-based donation, not a political donation, as Quadrature Capital Ltd remains non-partisan and apolitical.
“Going forward, our private giving will continue to be led by our values, and any further donations to political parties will depend on the parties’ commitments, track record, and alignment with our mission for sustainable and equitable growth.”
An investigation last year by The Guardian found that the company owned $170 million (£125 million) of shares in fossil fuels firms, including major polluters. It also reportedly holds millions of pounds worth of shares in US-based private healthcare companies and arms manufacturers.
The firm’s gift to Labour has only now come to light because it was accepted just before tighter transparency rules kicked in for the election period.
Normally donations are published every three months, but during campaigns parties must declare what they have received every week.
Rishi Sunak called the snap poll on May 22, with the Electoral Commission’s “pre-poll reporting” obligations kicking in a week later on May 30.
Electoral Commission records show that Labour accepted the £4 million from Quadrature on May 28, before the new rules had come into force. As a result, the donation was not made public until long after the election took place.
The timing of the declaration will raise questions over whether the party was seeking to avoid the controversy of it being published during the campaign.
Quadrature has said that while its funds are established in the Cayman Islands, it pays UK corporation tax on all of the profits from them.
In a statement on its website, the company says: “Quadrature does not seek to obtain a UK corporation tax advantage by establishing its funds in the Cayman Islands.
“Since the funds have historically been managed exclusively from the UK by Quadrature Capital Limited, all of the trading profits of the funds have been subject to UK corporation tax.”
Labour declined to comment.
