James Benamor

James Benamor (born 18 May 1977) is a British businessman.

James Benamor
Born (1977-05-18) 18 May 1977
Bournemouth, Dorset, England
OccupationBusinessman

Business activities

Benamor became one of the wealthiest young people in the United Kingdom after starting his loan brokerage company, the Richmond Group, in 1999 at the age of 21.[1] Unable to afford advertising at the time he printed leaflets and delivered them on foot, walking 300 km and delivering 30,000 leaflets in the first month.[1]

In 2005 he founded Amigo Holdings, a guarantor loans lender.

Benamor quit the board of Amigo Holdings in March 2020, but his Richmond Group currently own 61% of the company.[2]

In April 2020, Benamor demanded a meeting with the board to replace the current bosses of the company.[3]

Net worth

In 2018 his net worth rocketed to £1.1 billion when Amigo Holdings floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2018.[4]

The growth of Benamor's Richmond Group has attracted media attention. In 2007 it was reported by the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 as 29th fastest growing company in terms of sales,[1] in 2008 it was ranked 34th in the UK by the Profit Track 100 for profit growth,[5] and in 2008,[6] 2009[7] and 2010[8] it was rated as one of the 100 best companies in the Sunday Times '100 Best Companies to Work For'. In 2010 Benamor and the Richmond Group won an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year Award.[9]

Criticism

Benamor has been criticised by the Daily Mirror[10] and the BBC[11] for the Richmond Group's ownership of Advantage Loans, a credit broker which ceased trading in 2008.[12] He charged applicants a £50 fee but not all of them received a loan. Customers had to struggle to get their money back.[11]

Television appearances

Benamor was featured in an edition of the Channel 4[13] documentary series Secret Millionaire, aired on 5 August 2008, a show where wealthy business people go undercover to look for deserving people to give money to.[14]

The programme was set in Moss Side in Manchester and revealed that Benamor had dabbled in drugs and turned to petty crime as a teenager.[15] A follow up show broadcast on Christmas Day 2008 showed that Benamor had continued to work with The Settlement, a Manchester charity which appeared on the original show. This included setting up a work experience scheme which had paid for a number of disadvantaged teenagers from Manchester to visit Bournemouth and undergo training and work experience at his company.[16] The scheme was also covered by the BBC.[17]

References
  1. Richmond Group. The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list, 2 December 2007
  2. Dunkley, Emma. "Amigo founder James Benamor's angry adios". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. O'Dwyer, Michael (28 April 2020). "Amigo founder James Benamor launches coup to kick out lender's board". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. "Sub-prime lender Amigo valued at 1.3 billion pounds in London IPO". Reuters. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. Richmond Group. The Sunday Times Profit Track, 20 April 2008
  6. Richmond Group. The Sunday Times Best 100 small companies list, March 2008
  7. Richmond Group. The Sunday Times Best 100 small companies list, March 2009
  8. The Sunday Times Best 100 small companies list 2010 Archived 4 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine, March 2010
  9. "2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards winners list". ey.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  10. "Andrew Penman - Mirror Online". blogs.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  11. "'Secret Millionaire' makes money from a scam". BBC. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  12. ""Advantage Loans closed to new applications"". advantageloans.uk.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  13. "Channel 4 Secret Millionaire Episode". channel4.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  14. 'Secret Millionaire in Moss Side', Manchester Evening News, 31 July 2008
  15. Sunday People report, 3 August 2008
  16. "christmas.vg". christmas.vg. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  17. "Man helps challenged youths". 5 August 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
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