Bruce Ritchie

  • David Ritchie (father)

Bruce Weir Ritchie (born February 1965) is a British property developer and residential landlord, and the owner of the Residential Land Group.

Early life

Bruce Weir Ritchie was born in February 1965.[1] He was educated at Dulwich College where he was a contemporary of Nigel Farage.[2] He is the son of professor H. David Ritchie, a leading surgeon in the 1980s at the Royal London Hospital and Dean of the Medical College, and his wife Jennifer Prentice, a State School teacher. His older brothers are a Queen's Counsel and a scientist.[3][4]

Ritchie was brought up in Dulwich, South London.

Career

Ritchie left school after A levels and joined Harrods as a management trainee.[2] He bought his first properties whilst still working for Harrod's.[2]

In 1991, Ritchie founded Residential Land Limited and is its CEO.[2] The company grew strongly in the 1990s and 2000s. Ritchie through his Residential Land Group of 163 companies owns around 1,200 privately rented properties in prime central London and Mayfair.[5]

In the early 2000s Ritchie had a business partnership with the chef Marco Pierre White and his business partner Jimmy LaHood[6] in relation to some central London restaurants.

Residential Land is one of the largest residential property companies in London. In 2016, Ritchie sold a block of 58 flats at Garden House, 86–92 Kensington Gardens Square, London W2, which he bought for "a low price" in 2001.[7]

In the same year, Residential Land was named Asset Manager of the Year at the RESI Awards 2016, organised by Property Week.[8]

In May 2016, Ritchie was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the PROPS Awards, a UK property industry awards event.[9]

In July 2017, Ritchie was ranked 28th in Property Week’s annual Power 100 list, having been described as a ‘consummate dealmaker’.[10]

Controversy

Ritchie was one of the co-chairmen of the Presidents Club charitable trust,[11] which disbanded in 2018 after reports of sexual harassment and assault at its charity dinner.[12]

In January 2018, as a result of the media attention that the presidents Club received, the Canadian investment group, Ivanhoé Cambridge, and a major financial backer of Ritchie, announced that it would make no further investments with his company, Residential Land.[13]

Politics

Ritchie has been a staunch supporter of the Conservative Party throughout his adult life. In 2013, he and his wife Shadi donated £111,600 to the Conservative Party.[6][14] As of 2018, the two had given the Conservative Party more than £750,000 personally and through their wholly owned company, Residential Land.[15]

Personal life

Bruce Ritchie is married to Shadi[6][14] and has two teenage children.

Ritchie alongside his wife Shadi are Event Chairs for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Bruce was part of the committee that helped launch the first-ever Midsummer Party in July 2019, which raised $6m.[16][non-primary source needed]

References

  1. ^ "Bruce Weir RITCHIE – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Executive Profile: Bruce Ritchie". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Property Week article – Rich Pickings – Residential Land". residentialland.com. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Ritchie, Horace David (1920–1993)". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online Lives of the Fellows Online. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Bruce Ritchie – Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Residential Land – Residential Land". residentialland.com. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Goodley, Simon; Newman, Melanie; Mathiason, Nick (12 October 2014). "Tycoons mix with top Tories at fundraising ball in London". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  7. ^ Limited, Reed Business Information. "Striking it Ritchie - Estates Gazette.com". estatesgazette.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ 2016-05-19T00:00:00+01:00. "Stars of residential shine at RESI Awards 2016". Property Week. Retrieved 9 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "The 25th "PROPS" Lunch Raises an Amazing £380,000". Variety, the Children's Charity. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  10. ^ Branson, Adam; Parsley, David; Hamson, Liz; Williams, Richard; Crane, Helen; Hook2017-07-06T20:00:00, Richard. "PW Power 100: 21-30". Property Week. Retrieved 6 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Marriage, Madison (23 January 2018). "Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Presidents Club to close after shocking details of sexist behaviour emerge". The Independent. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  13. ^ Kollewe, Julia (28 January 2018). "Presidents Club scandal: property firm loses major backer". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  14. ^ a b Hughes, Solomon (12 June 2014). "Property Moguls Are Giving Money to the Conservatives". vice.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  15. ^ Doward, Jamie; Neate, Rupert (27 January 2018). "Presidents Club party guest backed Theresa May's Tory leader bid". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  16. ^ "EJAF'S FIRST-EVER MIDSUMMER PARTY RAISES €5.5 MILLION". Elton John AIDS Foundation. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.