Francis Xavier James HesterOBE (born April 1966) is a British businessman, and the founder, owner and CEO of software company The Phoenix Partnership. He is the largest ever donor to the Conservative Party having given £10 million in the year up to March 2024.
Hester is of Irish parentage and grew up in Armley, a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Hester is the sole owner of The Phoenix Partnership, which he founded in 1997 and specialises in providing healthcare technology. The Guardian reported that contracts worth £135m since April 2020 were awarded to his company by the Department of Health and Social Care, the majority for work under the GP IT Futures framework. In the 2015 New Year Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to healthcare. As of 2023, the Sunday Times Rich List estimates his net worth at £415 million.
In September 2023, Hester donated £5 million to the UK's Conservative Party. In March 2024, The Guardian referenced his, "announcement this month of the second £5m donation, from his company" to the Conservatives, making Hester's company the largest ever donor to the party. He said he previously voted for the Green Party, but became a Conservative Party donor after coming to the view that prime minister Rishi Sunak "understands and values the NHS and wants to tackle some of its most pressing challenges". In November 2023, Hester provided the use of a helicopter to prime minister Rishi Sunak for a political visit, valued at £15,000 in parliamentary records.
