Oliver Cookson
Oliver Cookson in 2014
NationalityBritish
EducationThe Kingsway School, Stockport[1]
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forFounder of Myprotein

Oliver Cookson is an English entrepreneur who established the sports nutrition business Myprotein, which he sold in 2011 for £58 million to The Hut Group. He was named in the Sunday Times Rich List 2019 having recorded a net worth of £306 m.[2]

Early life

Oliver Cookson is a British entrepreneur, who grew up in Withington, Manchester, in the Northwest of England, and comes from a working-class background. After leaving school with one GCSE,[3] he was taken on as an apprentice for an IT company before setting up on his own as a self-taught contract website developer for major global organisations.[4][5]

Career

Myprotein

Cookson, a keen weight trainer, applied his knowledge of web development to launch sports nutrition brand Myprotein in 2004 with just a £500 overdraft.[6] He began trading from a lock-up garage and built Myprotein into a multi-million-pound business employing more than fifty staff and selling products across the UK and Europe.[7]

The company manufactures and sells sports nutrition products and protein foods through its website and became the market leader in the segment.[8]

Products include protein powders, amino acids, vitamins, ready-to-drink products, omega oils and other items to help people build muscle, lose weight and supplement their diets.[9] Celebrities who use Myprotein products include Rugby players Kyle Eastmond and Dan Hipkiss, sprinter Craig Pickering and multiple footballers.[10]

The Hut Group

In 2011, Cookson sold Myprotein to The Hut Group in a deal worth £58 million in cash plus shares in the group. Those shares earned him another estimated £283 million when The Hut Group debuted on the stock market with the biggest initial public offering (IPO) of the year in 2020.[11]

Later career

On 1 November 2011, Cookson established the business Monocore[12] launching multiple consumer nutrition brands, including GoNutrition, before fully exiting the company in 2019.

He then founded investment vehicle OSC Group according to Companies House.

Make-A-Wish (UK)

In November 2020, Cookson became a patron for the charity Make-A-Wish (UK), which raises funds to help the wishes of critically ill children come true. The charity had been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented them from raising funds via the usual channels such as marathon runs and made it difficult to deliver wishes due to pandemic restrictions.[13] Cookson donated £250,000 to the charity, which was used to help one hundred critically ill children and give them hope for the future.[14]

TV piracy

In 2001, Cookson was fined £600 and ordered to complete 200 hours community service after pleading guilty to incitement under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, having discovered a system which allowed viewers to see pay-per-view channels for free.[15]

Litigation with The Hut Group

Oliver Cookson was involved in a long running case of litigation with The Hut Group over the sale of Myprotein in 2011 and the valuations that each side had put on their business.[16] Following a trial in The High Court in London in October 2014, Mr Justice William Blair, the brother of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, awarded Cookson net £6,482,911 million in relation to the counterclaim. The Hut Group made the first litigious move with what Mr Justice William Blair called "by way of pre-emptive strike".[17]

Mr Justice Blair ordered that The Hut Group should pay its own costs and meet one third of those incurred by Cookson and the Trust.[18]

In 2019, Cookson brought High Court documents alleging new shares in The Hut Group were issued to investors without Cookson's approval after the co-sale rights were removed, reducing Cookson's shareholding from 11.6% to 8.3% between February 2016 and May 2018.[19]

References

  1. ↑ O'Reilly, Judith. "Rich List 2019: Why failing exams is no bar to financial success".
  2. ↑ O'Reilly, Judith. "'Rich List 2019: why failing exams is no bar to financial success". Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  3. ↑ O'Reilly, Judith. "'Rich List 2019: why failing exams is no bar to financial success". Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Keeling, Neal (18 November 2020). "The dreams of 100 children will come true thanks to the generosity of a local lad who did very well for himself". Manchester Evening News.
  5. ↑ O'Reilly, Judith. "'Rich List 2019: why failing exams is no bar to financial success". Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "'Myprotein founder launches latest venture". Manchester Evening News. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "'Private equity investors circle Myprotein'". Manchester Evening News. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "'The Hut prepares for IPO in early 2014'". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "'Private equity investors circle Myprotein'". Manchester Evening News. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "'Private equity investors circle Myprotein'". Manchester Evening News. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "'THG IPO'".
  12. ↑ "'Myprotein founder launches latest venture'". Manchester Evening News. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "'Make-a-Wish (UK)".
  14. ↑ Keeling, Neal (18 November 2020). "The dreams of 100 children will come true thanks to the generosity of a local lad who did very well for himself". Manchester Evening News.
  15. ↑ BBC News - Computer expert fined over TV piracy, 17 July 2001
  16. ↑ "'The Hut eyes M&A as it looks to expand in health and beauty'". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Hut Group Ltd v Nobahar-Cookson & Anor [2014] EWHC 3842 (QB) (20 November 2014)". www.bailii.org.
  18. ↑ "'Cookson and The Hut both claim victory after High Court row'". The Business Desk. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  19. ↑ Torrance, Jack; Gill, Oliver (23 February 2019). "'Myprotein founder sues Hut Group over shares". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
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