Businessman Tim Horlick has died at the age of 65 at London's Royal Trinity Hospice after falling ill earlier this summer.
Two of his daughters were with him when he passed away earlier this week.
Horlick was the ex-husband of high-flying fund manager Nicola Horlick, who earned the sobriquet 'Superwoman' for bringing up six children while managing financial funds. The couple were married for 21 years before their marriage ended acrimoniously in 2005, during which time he appeared content to live in her shadow.
His death comes amid ongoing examination of the transformation of his personal fortune during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. That year, his company Ayanda Capital was awarded a £255million Department of Health contract for personal protective equipment (PPE).
Ayanda Capital had never previously supplied PPE, specialising instead in currency trading, private equity and offshore property. At the time of the deal, Horlick and his son-in-law Nathan Engelbrecht were the firm's only directors. The lucrative contract enabled Ayanda to achieve profits of £38million over two years, despite 50million of the supplied PPE masks being deemed faulty.
In 2023, it was revealed that Horlick had treated himself to a property in Switzerland. A friend assured at the time that there was "absolutely no connection at all" to the PPE contract, insisting the purchase was "all funded from Tim's personal assets." However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagreed with that assessment.
After Horlick expanded his property portfolio by spending £8.5million on a three-bedroom flat in Pimlico, south-west London, he was arrested in 2024 by HMRC's anti-fraud team. The investigation focused on income received during the pandemic, with reports alleging that millions of pounds in tax remained unpaid.
A criminal restraint order was subsequently placed on the Pimlico residence, blocking any attempt to sell it. Horlick, who had overseen extensive refurbishment work on the flat, reportedly denied any wrongdoing. Engelbrecht resigned as a director of Ayanda Capital in 2023 and went on to buy a £7.4million home in Kensington in 2024.
Nicola Horlick did not respond to inquiries. She married financial journalist Martin Baker in 2006, but he died of prostate cancer in 2022.
Davina McCall career plans and marriage
Television presenter Davina McCall has addressed comments made by her husband, hair stylist Michael Douglas, just eight months after their wedding.
Douglas recently stated that the couple had "five years" left before stepping back from their careers. He had said: "We've got five years of hard work left in us. Then it's time for us to relax and enjoy all of that hard work. Davina will be about 62 and I'll be around 58. There comes a point where you think, 'When do we actually sit back and enjoy everything we've worked so hard for?'"
The 58-year-old TV star firmly clarified her position on her career future. "He's thinking about hanging up his scissors - I'm not hanging up the microphone," McCall said.
Explaining how the retirement story originated, McCall added: "Michael did somebody's hair and he was saying in five years' time he'd like to stop being a hairdresser."
Iron Maiden Westminster MP alliance
Heavy metal band Iron Maiden sought political support in Westminster to combat online ticket scalping. Band manager Rod Smallwood recalled that the late Conservative MP Mike Weatherley was "a huge metal fan who always wore his Maiden T-shirt under his shirt in the House of Commons."
Smallwood hoped a Tory metal alliance would help the band put ticket-resale websites like Viagogo out of business. Weatherley arranged meetings between Smallwood and Sir John Whittingdale, who was then chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Smallwood recalled: "Mike fixed me meetings with Sir John Whittingdale. John is a Maiden fan with the art for our album The Number Of The Beast on his wall in his office at the House." Whittingdale previously worked as a political adviser to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was known as the original Iron Lady.
Madeleine Dunbar 12 months sobriety
Madeleine Dunbar, the daughter of Line of Duty actor Adrian Dunbar, is celebrating 12 months of sobriety. The 37-year-old singer and actress, who performs under the stage name MINX, shared the milestone online.
Speaking online, Dunbar declared: "One year no alcohol or mind-altering substances." Last year, she revealed her battle with addiction, ADHD and substance abuse in a song titled Dopamine.
Dunbar is the daughter of Dutch-Australian actress Anna Nygh and Adrian Dunbar. She gave birth to her first child in 2021.
Royal Collection Trust payment to Annabel Elliot
Interior designer Annabel Elliot, the 77-year-old sister of Queen Camilla, was paid £9,000 by the Royal Collection Trust in the last financial year. Accounts published by the charity, which manages the King's private art collection, revealed the payment.
A spokesman for the Royal Collection Trust confirmed that the £9,000 payment was made for interior design work carried out on a gift shop at Windsor Castle.
When King Charles controlled the Duchy of Cornwall as Prince of Wales, he regularly used his sister-in-law's services. In 2022, Elliot's company was paid £20,000 for finding and purchasing furniture for Duchy properties.
However, since Prince William took over control of the Duchy of Cornwall estate, Elliot's business has not received a single penny from the Duchy.
