Richard Harpin

Richard David Harpin (born 1964) is the founder and CEO of Homeserve, an international home repairs and improvements business.

Richard Harpin
Born (1964-09-10) September 10, 1964[1]
Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
NationalityBritish
EducationRoyal Grammar School, Newcastle
Alma materUniversity of York
OccupationChief Executive
TitleChief Executive of Homeserve plc
Spouse
Kate Harpin
​
(m. 1997)​
[1]
Children3[1]
Websiterichardharpin.com

Early life

Harpin was born in Huddersfield[2] and educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, before going on to the University of York.[3]

Career

Harpin joined Procter & Gamble in 1986 to pursue a marketing career.[2] He worked at Procter & Gamble until 1990 before joining Deloitte as a management consultant.[3]

HomeServe

In 1993 Harpin and Jeremy Middleton established HomeServe as a joint venture with South Staffordshire Water and built it into one of the United Kingdom's largest home emergency businesses.[2] It has since expanded into France in a joint venture with Veolia,[4] the USA[5] and Spain.[6]

In February 2014, HomeServe was fined a record £30.6 million for mis-selling insurance policies and mishandling customer complaints.[7]

In 2017, HomeServe acquired 100% of Checkatrade[8] and in 2019, acquired the Spanish business Habitissimo.[9]

Harpin holds a 7.2% stake in HomeServe, with his wife owning 4.7% shareholding.[10] Their combined stake is worth £440 million.[10]

Investments

Harpin founded The Enterprise Trust[11] to inspire young people to consider entrepreneurship as a career[12] by creating skills-based apprenticeships and injecting £1 million each year into youth enterprise support.[13]

In 2015 he also founded an investment fund, Growth Partner, that has invested in Crafter's Companion, run by Sara Davies MBE,[14] Iguana Developments[11] and Keelham Farm Shop.[15]

He is a member of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network.[16]

In 2013, Harpin and his wife bought their village pub, The Alice Hawthorn Inn in Nun Monkton, to prevent its closure. It won Yorkshire Life magazine's Dining Pub of the Year award in 2017.[17] They also helped revive the Nun Monkton Ferryboat across the River Ouse in 2017 which had been closed since 1952.[18]

Political activity

Harpin is a Conservative Party donor.[19]

Personal life

He is married to Kate and together they have one daughter and two sons.[2] He lives near York and uses a helicopter to commute to work in Walsall.[2]

In 2021, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his net worth at £627 million.[20]

References
  1. "HARPIN, Richard David". Who's Who. Vol. 2019 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Richard Harpin, the home emergencies expert who commutes by helicopter Independent, 25 March 2006
  3. Richard Harpin: Rich List Profiles Birmingham Post, 14 January 2008
  4. Carnegy, Hugh (10 March 2013). "HomeServe: Call-out service feels at home". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  5. Soule, Alexander (2 July 2016). "Despite skepticism about its offerings, HomeServe USA grows its customer base". The Hour. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  6. "Reparalia ahora es HomeServe". www.rrhhdigital.com (in Spanish). 28 April 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  7. Osborne, Hilary (13 February 2014). "HomeServe fined £30.6m for poor complaints handling and mis-selling". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. Robinson, Jon (21 November 2017). "HomeServe takes complete ownership of Checkatrade". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  9. "Homeserve Sets Out Plans To Accelerate Growth As Trading In Line". MorningstarUK. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  10. Freeman, Simon. "HomeServe boss and wife in line for £440m from buyout". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  11. Kelly, Liam (2 September 2018). "Q&A with angel investor Richard Harpin". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  12. "Charity Details: The Enterprise Trust". beta.charitycommission.gov.uk. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  13. "Enterprise Trust". www.enterprise-trust.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  14. "Growth Partner adds to senior investment team". Private Equity Wire. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  15. Graham, Natalie (5 March 2019). "My First Million: Victoria Robertshaw, founder Keelham Farm Shop". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  16. Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network
  17. Barnett, Ben (16 March 2019). "Nun Monkton - peaceful place boasts a community ferryboat". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  18. Stephen, Lewis (20 August 2018). "All aboard the Nun Monkton ferry". The Press. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  19. Syal, Rajeev (23 April 2015). "Tory donor is boss of firm fined £30.6m for mis-selling insurance". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  20. "The Sunday Times Rich List 2021". www.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
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