Labour Party accepts £4m donation from firm with huge investments in the fossil fuel industry
Quadrature Capital's shareholdings in fossil fuel companies are valued at over $300m. Quadrature's fund also includes $71m worth of shares in tech firm Palantir, according to latest company filings.
Labour’s £4m donation from Quadrature Capital.
Yesterday, the Electoral Commission published details of donations received by all the UK political parties during the second quarter of 2024. The updated register included a number of interesting declarations.
The largest, was a controversial £5m donation to the Conservative Party by Frank Hester’s Phoenix Partnership, however coming in at second place sat a £4m donation made by Quadrature Capital to the Labour Party. The eye-watering sum was accepted by the party in May 2024, during the build up to the general election.
Quadrature Capital are an investment firm based in London, the companies, latest published accounts for 2023 show a healthy turnover of £664m and profits before tax totalling £230m.
Last month Quadrature filed details of all its shareholdings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - The firm declared 1088 separate investments valued at over $5.9bn.
The investment fund include shareholdings valued at over $300m in fossil fuel companies and a further $200m in shareholdings in private healthcare firms.
Quadrature’s fossil fuel investments.
Quadrature’s links to the fossil fuel industry had already been highlighted by the Guardian newspaper last year, who reported the fund held shareholdings valued at $170m in oil and gas firms, however a review of the latest declaration suggest the figure is much higher and exceeds $300m (as of August 2024).
Investments include a $47m shareholding in Exxon Mobil - one of the worlds biggest contributors of greenhouse gas pollution. A $21m shareholding in oil producer Suncor - a firm that is currently extracting oil from Canada’s Tar Sands and was recently hit with a $10m fine in the US for air pollution.
Quadrature’s shareholdings also include a $12m holding in North Sea operator ConocoPhillips as well as multiple investments in the shares of US fracking operators.
According to Exxon Mobil’s website, the firm has in the past held an interest in “around 40 producing oil and gas fields in the North Sea”.
The firm also holds a number of large shareholdings in the renewable energy sector.
Quadrature’s private healthcare interests.
Analysis of Quadrature’s latest SEC filing’s show the firm has the following investments in private healthcare firms:
A $71m shareholding in Palantir Technologies and a further $28m shareholding in Accenture PLC - The recent winners of a £330m contract to provide the NHS’s controversial new data platform.
A $16m investment in Illumina - the US based genetics company, that was awarded a £123m government contract during the pandemic, shortly after former PM David Cameron lobbied ministers on Illumina’s behalf.
An $11m shareholding in private healthcare firm Iqvia - recipients of £1bn worth of covid contracts according to data compiled by tussell.
Quadrature also hold investments totalling $10m in Abbot Labs and $43m invested in Thermo Fisher Scientific - both, recipients of government VIP lane contracts.
In total Quadrature have investments valued at over $200m in just 10 companies with links to the NHS and DHSC.
Quadrature’s statement.
In a statement published on its website, Quadrature said:
“In May 2024, we came to the view that a UK Government with a commitment to the green transition of the economy would have the ability to drive change that is so urgently needed. Having analysed commitments set out by each party, we donated £4m to The Labour Party, in support of policies that will deliver climate action while also promoting social equity and economic resilience. This was a values-based donation, not a political donation, as Quadrature Capital Ltd remains non-partisan and apolitical. Going forward, our private giving will continue to be led by our values, and any further donations to political parties will depend on the parties’ commitments, track record and alignment with our mission for sustainable and equitable growth”.
“Given the nature of our trading, we maintain short and long positions in oil and gas stocks at the same time and do not any hold positions for extended periods of time - overall, the only effect of QCL’s trading on the industry is the addition of liquidity. Being market neutral means that across every sector and industry, we maintain as many short positions as long ones”.
The Labour Party were approached to comment.
You can read Quadrature Capital Ltd latest SEC filing detailing its full list of shareholdings here: