Keir Starmer’s assistant to receive a share of profits from the corporate consulting firm Hakluyt

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Sir Keir Starmer’s chief business aide will continue to receive dividend payments from his multi-million pound stake in corporate consultancy Hakluyt while in government.

Varun Chandra, a former managing partner at the group, is still entitled to a “reduced dividend”, Hakluyt said, and although he joined Starmer’s team in July, he has only paid a quarter of his share so far.

In the year By June 2023, Chandra had received more than £300,000 in dividends from the company, on top of a £2.1mn salary, according to a Financial Times calculation based on the latest set of accounts.

Hakluyt – founded by former MI6 officers – has a “global blue-chip client base”, including 40 per cent of the world’s most valuable companies and more than 15 of the top 20 private equity firms.

Chandra, a former investment banker, was hired in July Starmer’s special advisor on businessHe acts as a key intermediary between the Prime Minister and the corporate world.

At the time of the appointment, he owned 454,000 ordinary shares in Hakluyt, or just under 5 percent of the business.

Chandra sold 4,617 shares in August and an additional 108,968 shares in October, giving him 340,753 shares, or about three-quarters of the original stake, according to an earlier filing with Companies House.

Hakluyt said that when Chandra left the company in July, he agreed to a “formal” sale and purchase agreement “adjusted at the prevailing share price” to buy back the shares over time.

He added: “Until the share buyback is completed, he is entitled to a reduced dividend – but has no voting rights or decision-making role in the company.” He declined to elaborate on what the cut in dividend payments would mean.

Downing Street declined to say whether Chandra received a dividend from Hakluyt during his time in government. Chandra did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hakluyt declined to comment on whether dividends had been paid in the past six months.

Special advisers are allowed to have financial interests but must be identified, according to the government Code of conduct.

Earlier this week, another Hakluyt partner, Sir Ollie RobbinsHe was appointed as the new Permanent Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Robbins, who was the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, owns less than 5,814 ordinary shares in Chandra and is selling all the shares to Hakluyt, the company said.

“This will be over soon,” Hakluyt said. He receives no profits — and has no voting rights or decision-making role in the company. Robbins declined to comment.

Chandra’s partner said that the decision to stop the share sale process was aimed at avoiding financial problems for the company. The man argued that Chandra had signed a share purchase agreement and that this was disposal of shares.

Hakluyt made a net profit of £18.2mn in the year to June 2023 on profits of £113m, according to its latest published accounts. It paid a dividend of £6mn during the year.

Chandra has retained interest in the company’s investment arm, Hakluyt Capital, people familiar with the matter said.

Richard Holden, the Conservative shadow paymaster-general, said there were “serious issues” about Chandra’s interests.

“The total lack of transparency about Mr Chandra’s business interests, and how these affect his role in Downing Street, is deeply concerning and requires urgent and full transparency,” he said.

“Sir Keir Starmer must force Mr Chandra to make his demands fully known and deliver the openness and transparency he promised but has lacked in his government to date.”

Government officials say Chandra has gone through a thorough process on declarations of interest to ensure any conflicts of interest are “properly managed and mitigated”, including recusal when appropriate.

Chandra started his career in junior investment banking at Lehman Brothers before its demise in 2008.

In the year Before joining Hakluyt in 2014, he helped former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair set up his own consultancy, where he enjoyed great success. Managing Partner and CEO of the company in 2019, at the age of 34.

While leading the consulting firm, he spearheaded the creation of Hakluyt Capital, which has raised about $50 million in investments in startup technology companies and has its San Francisco office, last June.