Daniel Green (English businessman)

Daniel Green (born October 1966) is an English businessman and serial entrepreneur, who is best known for his contribution to the UK retail industry and for pioneering over £1 billion worth of solar energy to UK households, following legal battles with the Government to remove the feed-in tariff scheme. Green was a financial supporter of Theresa May's Prime Minister campaign.

Green was the founder of discount retailer Brand Centre which sold to Moss Bros Group in 1999. In 2006, Green sold his retail kiosk business to Sky plc in 2006 in excess of £25 million and HomeSun Ltd, a solar distribution company, to Aviva Investors in 2012 for £100 million.

Early life

Green was born in Ilford, East London. His mother was originally from Cairo, Egypt and was raised in an orphanage in South London and his father came from Whitechapel, London. Green's father's grandparents are of Russian-Jewish ancestry. Green moved to Sheffield as an infant where his parents owned a factory in Barnsley specialising in boys wear and men's fashion. Green and his family moved to Leeds in 1979 where he was educated at the Morris Sillman Primary School and then Leeds Grammar School.

Business career

After leaving school, Green approached Interflora about adding greeting cards and vouchers with every flower delivery. After executing the scheme successfully, Green rolled out the same programme with Boots UK plc in 1985.

In 1988, aged 22, Green opened a clothing concessions stand in the Oxford Circus branches of Topman and River Island, selling Indentikit clothing. A commission of sales was given to Topman and River Island in exchange for the retail space. Green grew Topman and River Island's revenue to £3 million and Indentikit was renamed to The Brand Centre.

Green opened the first official Brand Centre in Enfield, North London, now Matalan. The departmental store offered designer clothing for men, women and children sold at a discount. The Enfield store was the first in Britain to have a "Men's Creche"^[1] where men could sit, read magazines and watch football. Further stores were opened in Uxbridge and Manchester before the brand being sold to Moss Bros in 1999 for an estimated £2 million.

In 2001, Green opened retail stands located in the walking areas of shopping centres. The stands sold packages for landlines, cable TV and Internet, partnering with retailers including Telewest, NTL, OneTel and Sky. Green built up over 70 retail stands across the UK, securing an exclusive position with shopping centres, before selling the concept to Sky in 2006 in excess of £25 million. Following the acquisition, Green was named Managing Director of Retail for Sky where he worked under James Murdoch until 2009.

In 2010, Green teamed up with Eversheds Law Firm to capitalise on a new Government scheme to provide free solar to homes. The Government feed-in tariff scheme was brought in by Ed Miliband, in charge of DECC at the time and allowed HomeSun to giveaway over a £1 billion worth of solar power to households.^[2] With partners Sue Welland and Bill Sneyd, HomeSun became the largest residential renewable business in Europe, making over 7,000 home installations, equivalent to 30 MW and was subsequently purchased by Aviva Investors in 2012 for £100 million.^[3]

Post 2012, Green has invested in a number of businesses including FlowGem, which he founded in 2015, IoT patent pending self-installed water leak detector, recently sold to Centrica plc in excess of £13 million in 2016.^[4]

Legal battles

Whilst running Indentikit in 1991, Green's company sponsored Gary Lineker whilst he was the captain of the England National Football Team. Green successfully took Lineker to court for wearing and promoting brands outside of his contract that belonged to different companies other than Indentikit.

In late 2011, the Government decided to slash the solar feed-in tariff and a further 50% reduction in payments to households and communities generating electricity through solar power. Green and his company HomeSun engaged in a legal battle with the Government known as the "Friends of the Earth Case." The Government appealed numerous times and lost their bid.^[5] The Government's further appeal in The Supreme Court was also rejected and known as one of fastest cases in history, after being resolved through the British courts in three months. The Ministers of DECC, Chris Huhne and Greg Barker were forced to re-open the solar feed-in tariff for a future period.^[6][7]

Controversy

As the Chairman for charity Kisharon, Green approached Lord Alan Sugar by email to make a speech at an upcoming fundraising dinner. When Sugar declined, Green asked for a donation of £5,000 to which Sugar rejected and asked that he "never be contacted again." A few days later when Sugar attended a board meeting for Television catch-up service YouView, another attendee and friend of Green's, Richard Desmond asked about the donation which sparked a row between Desmond and Sugar. When Sugar stated that he didn't need to be part of this company, Desmond notoriously told Sugar that 'You're Fired' making a reference to his television show 'The Apprentice.'^[8]

Philanthropy

Green has taken charitable roles such as Chairman for Kisharon, a charity for disabled children. He is also a Trustee^[9] of Hasmonean High School. He has also donated money to several Mosques and muslim education programmes

Green is a member of The Conservative Leaders Group and was part of the small group that financially supported Theresa May's campaign to be Prime Minister.^[10] In 2015 he was made Crown Representative for the Cabinet Office,^[11] in a non-paid role, helping the Government with commercial relationships with third parties.

Awards

Women's magazines have regularly featured Green as one of Britain's best-dressed and most eligible bachelors, winning Company Magazine's 'Most Eligible Bachelor of the Year 1990.'^[12]

Personal life

Green and his family currently live in North London. He married Sharon (Surr) Green in 1999 and has four children.

References