Spear’s Review

Like most left-of-centre political movements, Britain’s Labour party has rarely received a warm welcome from financial elites. Yet Keir Starmer, only the seventh Labour prime minister in British history, came to office saying that he planned to square that circle by leading a proudly pro-business government. 

Sir Keir set out his stall with the hiring of Varun Chandra – a former investment banker who left his role as the head of investigations and intelligence outfit Hakluyt to take up a role as the Labour government’s attaché to the financial world. 

Chandra isn’t a household name in Britain. Yet the 40-year-old is held in particularly high regard by many of London’s movers and shakers thanks to his stewardship of the firm – a specialist advisory and consultancy outfit staffed by former intelligence officers. He was already regarded as a master networker when he was appointed as its managing partner in 2019, aged just 34. And he must have done something right in the role; five years later, Hakluyt could count 15 of the 20 largest private equity firms among its client base. 

As well as accepting a substantial pay cut as a result of leaving Hakluyt for public service, Chandra also gave up his role on the board of trustees of the British Asian Trust, which he had taken up in 2021. 

His bonds with Labour were forged well over a decade ago, when he helped Tony Blair found his own private advisory business. His new boss, however, may be a rather tougher sell to the international business community. Well documented changes to the UK’s tax regime have given many of Chandra’s old friends some cause for concern.

At least if he does return to private practice in a few years, his little black book will be even more impressive than it already was.

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