Health secretary Jeremy Hunt to make over £14m from sale of Hotcourses

Jeremy Hunt will make over £14m from the sale of Hotcourses
Jeremy Selwyn
Patrick Grafton-Green16 January 2017

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to make more than £14million from the sale of a business he co-owns, making him one of the UK’s highest earning politicians.

The education listings service Hotcourses, in which Hunt owns a 48 per cent stake, is being bought for £30million by Australian firm IDP Education.

Mr Hunt helped to set up the firm, which runs websites listing courses for students around the world, in 1996.

He said he intends to use the money to fund campaigns after he leaves politics.

He said: "I am incredibly proud to have set up a successful business, even prouder of the current Hotcourses team who have taken it from strength to strength, and intend to use a significant proportion of the proceeds to campaign for causes I believe in when I eventually leave frontline politics.”

The South West Surrey MP stepped down as a director in 2009 but retained his shareholding in the company.

Based in London, the company now runs a number of educational websites, such as Postgraduate Search and The Complete University Guide, as well as Hotcourses.

It has more than two million registered users for its websites.

IDP Education, based in Melbourne, recruits and advises university students around the world who want to study abroad.

Chief executive of Hotcourses Group Simon Emmett said: "The Hotcourses Group and IDP Education are both longstanding members of the international education community, and this agreement brings together a world leader in education search technology and tools, with a world leader in student placement and preparation."

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