Oliver Tress

Oliver James Mark Tress (born May 1967) is a British businessman and the founder and head of the UK retail chain Oliver Bonas. He opened the first Oliver Bonas store in London in 1993.[1]

Oliver Tress
BornMay 1967 (1967-05) (age 56)
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England
Other namesOlly Tress
EducationMarlborough College
Alma materDurham University
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder and head of UK retail chain Oliver Bonas
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2009; sep. 2021)​
Children3

Early life

Tress was born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in May 1967,[2] the son of a banker father and housewife mother.[3] He was educated at Marlborough College, Wiltshire, after which he took a degree in anthropology at Durham University, graduating in 1989 as a member of Hatfield College.[2][4]

Career

Tress opened the first Oliver Bonas store on London's Fulham Road in 1993 selling handbags and jewellery from Hong Kong, where his parents lived, and products he sourced from trade shows.[1][5] Tress used £3,000 of his savings to set up the first shop, using £1,500 of it for the rent.[2] Bonas was the surname of his then-girlfriend Anna, the cousin of Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas.[5]

In 2011, during the London riots, he was "badly beaten by looters" outside an Oliver Bonas store on Clapham's Northcote Road, and received hospital treatment for head injuries.[3]

In 2019, Tress obtained a £15m revolving credit facility from HSBC, which allowed Oliver Bonas to open eight more stores.[6]

As of 2023, there were 83 Oliver Bonas stores in the UK.[1]

Personal life

Tress has Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, otherwise known as ADHD.[1]

In 2009, he married Gina Coladangelo.[3] Tress and Coladangelo have three children.[2] In 2015, they moved from Clapham Junction to a five-bedroom Edwardian house in Wandsworth, London with a live-in nanny.[2][7] She was a director and major stakeholder for the PR and lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, and the marketing and communications director for Oliver Bonas.[8][9] Later she became a non-executive director at the Department of Health and Social Care, an aide to the then Secretary for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock.[8] In June 2021, Hancock resigned after images were released showing him kissing and embracing Coladangelo in his Whitehall office breaking the then COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. It was later reported that they had separated from their spouses to form a relationship.[10][11][12][13]

References
  1. Editor, Isabella Fish, Retail (17 July 2023). "At first it looked like a jumble sale, says Oliver Bonas creator". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 17 July 2023. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Graham, Natalie (27 November 2015). "My First Million — Oliver Tress, retailer". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  3. Strick, Katie (28 June 2021). "Oliver Tress: Who is Gina Coladangelo's husband?". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. "B.A. (Faculty of Social Sciences)". University of Durham Congregation (29 June 9am). Durham: Durham University: 6. 1989.
  5. Wills, Kate (25 June 2021). "Who is the owner of Oliver Bonas and how has he captured middle-class hearts?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  6. "Olly Tress: Founder and CEO, Oliver Bonas". Drapers. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  7. Waddell, Lily (26 June 2021). "Who is Gina Coladangelo? Matt Hancock is accused of having affair with close aide and multi-millionaire's wife". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  8. Walker, Peter; Booth, Robert (25 June 2021). "No 10 rebuffs calls to sack Matt Hancock for kissing aide". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  9. Plummer, Kate (25 June 2021). "Who's who in Matt Hancock 'affair' as Health Secretary 'caught kissing aide' on CCTV". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  10. "Matt Hancock resigns as health secretary after kissing aide – follow live". The Independent. 26 June 2021. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. "Matt Hancock resigns as health secretary after admitting breaking COVID rules". Sky News. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  12. Pogrund, Tim Shipman and Gabriel. "Matt Hancock quits over affair with Gina Coladangelo". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. Cope, Rebecca (28 February 2022). "Matt Hancock declares his love for Gina Coladangelo on Diary of a CEO podcast". Tatler.
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