Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, appears to have used over £500,000 from a substantial donation made by Fiona Cottrell—mother of Nigel Farage’s longtime aide George Cottrell—to convert personal loans into party donations, according to data from the Electoral Commission and statements from former party officials.
On June 10, 2024, Fiona Cottrell transferred £1,075,000 to Britain Means Business Ltd, a company solely owned by Tice. Nearly simultaneously, Britain Means Business donated £500,000 to Reform UK. On the same date, Reform UK repaid £200,000 of the £1,083,000 it owed Tice through another company he controls, Tisun Investments Ltd. By April 2025, Reform UK had cleared its entire debt to Tisun Investments, partly through direct repayment and largely through Tice reclassifying £613,000 of the outstanding loans as donations. The precise means by which Tice funded this conversion have not been publicly disclosed.
Financial records for 2024 show that by year-end, Britain Means Business had only £10,500 in capital and reserves, implying that the bulk of Fiona Cottrell’s funds had been removed from the business by Tice. This has prompted questions about the whereabouts of approximately £575,000 remaining from Cottrell’s initial transfer. Ben Habib, the party’s former deputy leader, raised concerns over this unexplained sum, emphasizing potential obligations for Reform UK and Tice to disclose such financial dealings to the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Register.
These transactions coincide with a reported arrangement in early 2024 where Farage agreed to resume leadership of Reform UK, exchanging the role with Tice, who would become deputy and have his loans repaid. Mehrtash Azami, Reform’s treasurer from 2019 to February 2025, confirmed receiving a repayment schedule for the £1.08 million owed to Tice but stated that after a first repayment was mistakenly sent to the wrong account, further payments were halted on instruction. Azami was not informed of the loan reclassification or subsequent repayments.
Further scrutiny surrounds the origins of the funds. George Cottrell, known within the party as “Posh George” and a convicted fraudster, reportedly transferred $1.4 million to his mother before she made the donation to Britain Means Business. Tice and Reform UK declined to clarify whether these funds were directly used to settle his loans. Tice previously dismissed inquiries into donation sources and compliance with electoral fundraising rules with terse remarks.
The funds transferred through Britain Means Business are under investigation by the Metropolitan Police for alleged breaches of electoral law, specifically the concealment of true donors, an offense under British law. The police have interviewed two individuals under caution but have not named suspects or made arrests.
George Cottrell’s criminal record includes a 2016 plea deal in the United States, where he pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to a wide-ranging “dark money” laundering case, serving time in prison.
In related developments, Nigel Farage faces an ongoing parliamentary standards investigation over an undeclared £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the 2024 general election. Farage has maintained that disclosure was unnecessary, arguing he was not active in politics at the time and the gift was unrelated to any parliamentary activities.