Lib Dems' biggest election donor unmasked as boss of axed asylum seeker hotel firm

The Lib Dems’ biggest election donor can today be unmasked as an axed hotel firm’s boss.

Stay Belvedere Hotels enjoyed tens of millions in profits before being dropped by the government last month over its performance. Now our investigation reveals its co-owner gave Ed Davey’s party nearly £500,000 in the weeks ahead of polling day. Ex-kebab store businessman Safwan Adam, 37, has been an SBHL director since April 2021 before it was slammed by the government last month.

The former Madame Tussauds worker appears to have no prior experience in the immigration sector — despite his firm said to have been providing about a quarter of Home Office asylum accommodation. SBHL was subcontracted by provider Clearsprings under a wider deal awarded during the Tory government in 2019 worth about £2 billion-a-year.

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Just last month Lib Dem leader Davey described the number of people crossing the Channel “really worrying”. And at the election, his party attacked the Tories’ record on immigration — pledging to fight for a system treating “everyone with dignity and respect”. But we can disclose the role of the party’s donor at SBHL, given the boot by the Home Office after it “fell short”.

The firm has been responsible for the running 51 hotels in England and Wales, as well as Napier barracks in Kent, housing asylum seekers. The Folkestone site is due to be handed back to the in September after controversy over conditions. Mr Adam is one of two directors of SBHL, which raked in pre-tax profits of almost £36 million from April to 31 December 2022.

Asylum minister Angela Eagle told the Commons last month how “significant elements” of the firm’s behaviour “fell short of what we’d expect from a government supplier”. She added: “That is why the Home Office has informed Clearsprings Ready Homes that it must exit the arrangements with a subcontractor in its supply chain, Stay Belvedere Hotels.”

The ’ Home Affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart said during the debate: “Of course the Home Office should ensure that all asylum accommodation providers deliver value for money, safety and security, but tinkering with contracts will not change the fact that asylum hotels are a lose-lose. They eat up taxpayer money and leave local councils and communities to sort out the mess.” At the election, pledged to save taxpayers billions by ending asylum seeker hotels.

A February 2021 joint Observer and News probe reported allegations SBHL staff had been paid significantly less than the minimum wage. ITV News reported an asylum seeker in Stay Belvedere accommodation told of feeling “insecure and unsafe” in the cramped room she shared with her child due to a culture of intimidation and verbal abuse by staff.

Mr Adam has ploughed funds into the Lib Dems via his management consultancy and investment firm Adam Management Holdings. The company’s website boasts he “is known for his strong analytical skills and ability to identify emerging market trends”. One of his “strongest beliefs” is said to be that “success is a team sport”.

Adam Management Holdings handed the Lib Dems £762,581.53 last year, including £479,981.53 in pre-poll donations. The firm also made smaller donations to some other parties last year. Mr Adam, who studied aeronautical engineering at university, makes no mention of being director or co-owner of SBHL on his LinkedIn CV, nor does the company’s website seem to name him. His LinkedIn profile shows he was a franchisee shareholder in German Doner Kebab from September 2016 to November 2018. He had a six-month stint working on customer relations for Madame Tussauds from November 2008.

Mr Adam became a shareholder of SBHL on 7 September 2022 via his Axion Holdings Ltd company – one of five firms with shareholdings. Adam Management Holdings said: “All political donations referenced were made solely by Adam Management Holdings Ltd. These donations were made transparently, declared in full to the Electoral Commission, and in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations.”

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “All donations are declared in the proper way and we are grateful to Safwan for his support. We will continue to push for measures to fix the broken asylum system and tackle the dangerous Channel crossings, so that the Government stops spending billions of taxpayers' money on asylum hotels.” SBHL was contacted.