Billionaire Tory donor’s firm claimed millions in taxpayer-funded furlough cash – after making £75m profit

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A billionaire Tory donor’s firm continued to claim millions of pounds’ worth of taxpayer-funded furlough money after recording a £75.3m profit, The Independent can reveal. Malcolm Healey’s company, Wren Kitchens, used public funds to help bankroll its staff costs during the Covid pandemic even though it banked tens of millions of pounds’ worth of pre-tax profits in its 2020 accounts. Kitchens tycoon Healey’s firm received £15.5m in 2020 via the government’s job retention scheme, set up to help struggling businesses pay staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to its latest accounts. The rot set in with Wren when they rushed to get rid of showroom staff at the first whiff of lockdown.” He added: “It should come as no surprise that Wren, under the guidance of the owner Malcolm Healey, would seize the opportunity to use taxpayers’ money to subsidise his already huge fortune.” Wren Kitchens is a subsidiary of The West Retail Group Ltd, whose ultimate controlling party is Malcolm Healey.