Clive Hollick, Baron Hollick
Encyclopedia
Clive Richard Hollick, Baron Hollick (born 20 May 1945) is a British businessman with media
interests, and a noted supporter of the Labour party
.
, the son of Olive Mary (née Scruton) and Leslie George Hollick. He was educated at Taunton's Grammar School, Southampton
, and then read Politics, Psychology and Sociology at the University of Nottingham
. He joined Hambros Bank
as a graduate trainee in 1967 and rapidly gained a reputation as a financier and a dealmaker, becoming the bank's youngest ever director in 1973.
.
MAI moved into television in 1993 when its subsidiary Meridian Broadcasting
won the ITV
franchise for South and South-East England. The following year it bought Anglia Television
for £292m, and in 1995 a 14.8% share in Yorkshire
-Tyne Tees
, and was a major shareholder in the consortium that was granted the franchise for Channel 5.
, Daily Star, and a string of local newspapers, to form United News and Media, an international media group with revenues of £2.3 billion and 16,000 employees. Many thought Hollick would meet his match in Lord Stevens of Ludgate, proprietor of United; but it was Stevens who was sidelined as Hollick became chief executive, and within 18 months the Express had undergone a radical shift of political affiliation, dropping its long-standing support for the Conservative Party
to become an enthusiastic proponent of Tony Blair
's New Labour.
UNM was required to sell its stake in Yorkshire-Tyne Tees as part of the merger, giving Granada
control, but the next year it was permitted to add a third ITV franchise to its holdings, HTV
, the broadcaster for Wales and the West Country. As ITV continued to consolidate, Hollick proposed to take over Carlton
in 2000, which would have made him the dominant player on the network. But his plans were blocked by the then Secretary of State at the DTI, Stephen Byers
, who ruled that the merger would only be acceptable if Hollick gave up the prized Meridian franchise – making the deal pointless. Unable to proceed, Hollick sold the three ITV franchises to Granada in July 2000 for £1.75 billion. The UNM share price dived 13% on the news, but history has since revealed that Hollick sold out right at the top of the market. Ironically, the last restrictions on ITV company joint ownership were lifted by the Communications Act 2003
, and in February 2004 Granada and Carlton merged to form a single entity ITV plc
controlling all of the ITV franchises in England and Wales.
Other parts of UNM were also disposed of advantageously, including the demerging of MAI's original securities business in 1998 as Garban, which subsequently became ICAP
; the sale in 1998 of United's Provincial Newspapers including the Yorkshire Post
to Johnston Press
; the controversial sale of Express Newspapers in 2000 to Richard Desmond
, owner of a stable of pornographic magazines; the sale of the NOP World market research business to GfK
in 2005; and the sale of United's 35% stake in Channel 5 to RTL
in 2005.
UNM, renamed United Business Media PLC in 2000, is now strongly focussed on business-to-business publications, information services and exhibitions. Principal subsidiaries are PR Newswire
, acquired by United in 1982, and CMP Media, acquired in 1999.
firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, focussing on the media and financial services sectors. This led to speculation that KKR might launch a bid for ITV. In 2006 he was appointed to the supervisory board of media conglomerate VNU
, after KKR and Blackstone Group
won a difficult takeover battle. He is also vice-chairman of the supervisory board of SBS Broadcasting Group
, taken over by KKR and Permira
in August 2005, into which in 2007 was merged the German satellite broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media
. Hollick is also a director of Diageo
PLC (since 2001), and Honeywell International (since 2003).
Other directorships Hollick has held include Hambros Bank Limited, 1973-96; Shepperton Studios
(chairman), 1976-79; National Bus Company Ltd
, 1984-91; Department of Applied Economics, Cambridge University, 1988-95; Logica plc, 1987-92; British Aerospace plc
, 1992-97. From 2002 to 2008 he was Chairman of the South Bank Centre
arts complex in London.
Hollick has been a longtime supporter and donor to the Labour Party
, and was one of the founding backers of the New Labour think tank
the Institute for Public Policy Research
(IPPR). For a time after the 1997 Election
he served as a special advisor to Margaret Beckett
and Peter Mandelson
at the Department of Trade and Industry. He is a supporter of the 2020 Vision political campaign run by Charles Clarke
and Alan Milburn
, and currently co-ordinating funds for the campaign.
He was created a life peer
on 20 June 1991, as Baron Hollick, of Notting Hill
in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
. He is married to Susan Mary Woodford-Hollick and has three daughters.
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
interests, and a noted supporter of the Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Early life and career
Hollick was born in SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, the son of Olive Mary (née Scruton) and Leslie George Hollick. He was educated at Taunton's Grammar School, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, and then read Politics, Psychology and Sociology at the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
. He joined Hambros Bank
Hambros Bank
Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years...
as a graduate trainee in 1967 and rapidly gained a reputation as a financier and a dealmaker, becoming the bank's youngest ever director in 1973.
Vavasseur and MAI
The next year Hollick was parachuted as chief executive into JH Vavasseur Group, a failing moneybroker caught up in the 1973-4 secondary banking crisis. By 1978 the Vavasseur mechant bank was financially secure once again, and Hollick was building it into a successful media company, renaming the group Mills & Allen International (MAI) after taking over advertising billboard company Mills and Allen. The group continued to grow with diversification during the 1980s, expanding into market research and business information services, and buying the National Opinion Polls (NOP) group in 1989 from the Daily Mail and General TrustDaily Mail and General Trust
Daily Mail and General Trust plc is a British media conglomerate, one of the largest in Europe. In the UK, it has interests in national and regional newspapers, television and radio. The company has extensive activities based outside the UK, through Northcliffe Media, DMG Radio Australia, DMG World...
.
MAI moved into television in 1993 when its subsidiary Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
won the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
franchise for South and South-East England. The following year it bought Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
for £292m, and in 1995 a 14.8% share in Yorkshire
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
-Tyne Tees
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
, and was a major shareholder in the consortium that was granted the franchise for Channel 5.
United News and Media
In March 1996 the group merged with United Newspapers, publishers of the Daily ExpressDaily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, Daily Star, and a string of local newspapers, to form United News and Media, an international media group with revenues of £2.3 billion and 16,000 employees. Many thought Hollick would meet his match in Lord Stevens of Ludgate, proprietor of United; but it was Stevens who was sidelined as Hollick became chief executive, and within 18 months the Express had undergone a radical shift of political affiliation, dropping its long-standing support for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
to become an enthusiastic proponent of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's New Labour.
UNM was required to sell its stake in Yorkshire-Tyne Tees as part of the merger, giving Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
control, but the next year it was permitted to add a third ITV franchise to its holdings, HTV
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
, the broadcaster for Wales and the West Country. As ITV continued to consolidate, Hollick proposed to take over Carlton
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
in 2000, which would have made him the dominant player on the network. But his plans were blocked by the then Secretary of State at the DTI, Stephen Byers
Stephen Byers
Stephen John Byers is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for North Tyneside from 1997 to 2010; in the previous parliament, from 1992, he represented Wallsend...
, who ruled that the merger would only be acceptable if Hollick gave up the prized Meridian franchise – making the deal pointless. Unable to proceed, Hollick sold the three ITV franchises to Granada in July 2000 for £1.75 billion. The UNM share price dived 13% on the news, but history has since revealed that Hollick sold out right at the top of the market. Ironically, the last restrictions on ITV company joint ownership were lifted by the Communications Act 2003
Communications Act 2003
The Communications Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It gave regulation body Ofcom its full powers. Among other measures, it introduced legal recognition of Community Radio and paved the way for full-time Community Radio services in the UK; as well as controversially...
, and in February 2004 Granada and Carlton merged to form a single entity ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
controlling all of the ITV franchises in England and Wales.
Other parts of UNM were also disposed of advantageously, including the demerging of MAI's original securities business in 1998 as Garban, which subsequently became ICAP
ICAP (company)
ICAP plc is a UK based voice and electronic dealer broker and provider of post trade risk services, the largest in the world carrying out transactions for financial institutions rather than private individuals...
; the sale in 1998 of United's Provincial Newspapers including the Yorkshire Post
Yorkshire Post
The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by Yorkshire Post Newspapers, a company owned by Johnston Press...
to Johnston Press
Johnston Press
Johnston Press plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its flagship titles are The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post; it also operates many other newspapers around the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the second-largest publisher...
; the controversial sale of Express Newspapers in 2000 to Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
, owner of a stable of pornographic magazines; the sale of the NOP World market research business to GfK
GfK
The GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health...
in 2005; and the sale of United's 35% stake in Channel 5 to RTL
RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
in 2005.
UNM, renamed United Business Media PLC in 2000, is now strongly focussed on business-to-business publications, information services and exhibitions. Principal subsidiaries are PR Newswire
PR Newswire
PR Newswire started out in 1954 as a vendor hired by companies and agencies to send out text press releases to the media. Today, PR Newswire is hired by corporations, public relations firms and non-governmental organizations to deliver news and multimedia content...
, acquired by United in 1982, and CMP Media, acquired in 1999.
Current activities and other interests
Hollick retired as CEO of United Business Media in April 2005 at the age of 60, and promptly became a managing partner at private equityPrivate equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, focussing on the media and financial services sectors. This led to speculation that KKR might launch a bid for ITV. In 2006 he was appointed to the supervisory board of media conglomerate VNU
VNU
Nielsen is a global marketing and advertising research company headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Nielsen is active in over 100 countries, and employs some 32,000 people worldwide...
, after KKR and Blackstone Group
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
won a difficult takeover battle. He is also vice-chairman of the supervisory board of SBS Broadcasting Group
SBS Broadcasting Group
SBS Broadcasting Group was a European broadcasting group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Western and Central and Eastern Europe...
, taken over by KKR and Permira
Permira
Permira is a United Kingdom-based private equity firm with global reach. The firm advises funds with a total committed capital of approximately €20 billion....
in August 2005, into which in 2007 was merged the German satellite broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media
ProSiebenSat.1 Media
ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG is a European media conglomerate, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses. It was formed on October 2, 2000 by merger of German TV broadcasters ProSieben Media AG and Sat.1 SatellitenFernsehen GmbH...
. Hollick is also a director of Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
PLC (since 2001), and Honeywell International (since 2003).
Other directorships Hollick has held include Hambros Bank Limited, 1973-96; Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
(chairman), 1976-79; National Bus Company Ltd
National Bus Company UK
The National Bus Company was, from 1969 to 1988, a nationalised bus company in England and Wales. NBC did not run buses itself, but was the owner of a number of regional subsidiary bus operating companies.-History:-Background:...
, 1984-91; Department of Applied Economics, Cambridge University, 1988-95; Logica plc, 1987-92; British Aerospace plc
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
, 1992-97. From 2002 to 2008 he was Chairman of the South Bank Centre
South Bank Centre
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracts more than three million visitors annually...
arts complex in London.
Hollick has been a longtime supporter and donor to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, and was one of the founding backers of the New Labour think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
the Institute for Public Policy Research
Institute for Public Policy Research
The IPPR is the leading progressive think-tank in the UK. It produces research and policy ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and IPPR North has branches in Newcastle and Manchester.It was founded in...
(IPPR). For a time after the 1997 Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
he served as a special advisor to Margaret Beckett
Margaret Beckett
Margaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
and Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
at the Department of Trade and Industry. He is a supporter of the 2020 Vision political campaign run by Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
and Alan Milburn
Alan Milburn
Alan Milburn is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Darlington from 1992 until 2010...
, and currently co-ordinating funds for the campaign.
He was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
on 20 June 1991, as Baron Hollick, of Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
. He is married to Susan Mary Woodford-Hollick and has three daughters.
External links
- Hollick makes his move, BBC News, 26 November 1999
- Is Carlton United a winning team?, BBC News, 26 November 1999
- Factsheet, Justpeople.com, 9 February 2000
- Lord Hollick To Be New Chairman Of The South Bank Board, Department for Culture, Media and SportDepartment for Culture, Media and SportThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
, February 2002 - Hollick's non-United future, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 3 September 2004 - Interview, Evening StandardEvening StandardThe Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, 8 September 2004 - Hollick refuses to hand back £250,000 despite investor vote, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 13 May 2005 - United Group: A Chronology, ketupa.net
- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts signs up Hollick as it targets UK media, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 13 January 2005 - ITV may be on menu for Hollick, Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, 13 January 2005 - ITV gains on bid speculation, Digital TV, 18 January 2005
- Lord Hollick exits stage left, Sunday Times, January 27, 2008. Interview and profile on the occasion of Lord Holick stepping down as chairman of the Southbank Centre.