US Banker Paid £73m Dividend in 2021 after Firm Won Millions in UK Covid Contracts

THE GUARDIAN: Banks Bourne, sole owner of Tanner Pharma in North Carolina, took sum from Tanner’s UK arm, records show

Banks Bourne’s company, Tanner Pharma, was awarded contracts worth £865m from the UKHSA and the DHSC for the provision of lateral flow tests. Photograph: Medtex
An American banker was paid a £73m dividend in 2021 after his firm won hundreds of millions in Covid contracts, figures show.

Banks Bourne, the sole owner of the medical company Tanner Pharma, took the sum from Tanner’s UK division, Companies House records show.

While Tanner Pharma, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, registered profits of £1.4m in 2019, this figure hit £38.8m in 2020 and £64m in 2021. According to the company’s latest accounts, released in March, this financial growth was largely driven by a Covid windfall, with the firm paid huge sums by the UK government. » | Sam Bright | Thursday, May 25, 2023

Correct me if I am mistaken, but if my memory serves me well, it was the Tories who are responsible for this disgrace. Notably, Rishi Sunak, who was in charge of dishing out money during the pandemic, which he dished out to some like confetti, and to others like stale breadcrumbs to those on rations. Or, indeed, even worse, to many, none at all! – © Mark Alexander