HEART OF GOLD AWARD GOES TO JOHN AND CLAIRE CAUDWELL.

November 18, 2013.

HEART OF GOLD AWARD GOES TO JOHN AND CLAIRE CAUDWELL.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist John Caudwell spends most of his time and effort, and money, helping change lives, but last Friday he was the recipient: recognition from key figures in the music industry for his efforts to support charities and good causes.

John was presented with the Heart of Gold Award at the Global Angel Awards dinner at the Roundhouse in Camden on Friday, November 15, 2013, and he was joined on stage to receive it by his partner Claire Caudwell, who, John says, really does have a heart of gold and is very passionate about helping others, especially the charity John founded, Caudwell Children.

"The awards honour inspirational organisations and individuals who are game changers in transforming our world," said founder and CEO of the Global Angels Foundation, Molly Bedingfield, mother of pop icons Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield.

"The Heart of Gold Award is presented to an individual or couple who use their influence and generosity to significantly empower and support philanthropic endeavours. These are people who embody the spirit of giving."

John Caudwell said: "Philanthropic work in helping orders gives me the most amazing sense of satisfaction and pleasure and that is the reward in itself. In fact the reward is so great, that many years ago I pledged to give at least 50% of my wealth away during and after my lifetime. Whilst I do not need awards and accolades, I do feel very honoured, alongside my gorgeous Claire, to be receiving the Heart of Gold award.

"Global Angels is a fantastic organisation, and we need to ensure it continues its great work - a crucial element of which is that 100% of money raised goes directly to the causes it supports."

John Caudwell sold his mobile telecoms business, which included high street retailer Phones 4u, for £1.5 billion in 2006, and has since concentrated his efforts on philanthropic work supporting charities and good causes. He is the founder of Caudwell Children, which concentrates on providing treatment for desperately ill children, and support for them and their families.

John has pledged to give away at least half his wealth to charities and good causes during his lifetime and after his death.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.caudwell.com

FLYING IN THE LANCASTER BOMBER IN THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY FLYPAST

FLYING IN THE LANCASTER BOMBER IN THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY FLYPAST.

I had the most amazing privilege at the weekend. Last year I made a £2 million contribution towards the cost of the Bomber Command Memorial in London - a memorial that, quite frankly, probably would not have happened had organisers of the project not approached me for support. It did not take much convincing that I should help out in the creation of a tribute to more than 55,000 young airmen 

Out of the blue - literally - as a thank-you for my support, the RAF invited me to fly in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster Bomber as part of the flypast over Buckingham Palace for the Queen's birthday celebrations.

As well as being an incredible honour, it was also an amazing insight into what the Bomber Command crews had to endure. While flying through windy and turbulent airspace over London on a June day in 2013 was uncomfortable enough in startlingly cramped conditions, those young men did superhuman jobs seven decades ago in carrying out their missions in the pitch black, with anti-aircraft fire exploding around them, and fighters chasing them down.

Here are some photos from my day with the http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/59769416@N02/9085575167/ Here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t87Rpg2o3BM http://www.caudwell.com/

CAUDWELL IS TITLE CHARACTER IN SKY 1 HD SERIES “THE ANGEL”

JOHN CAUDWELL

@johndcaudwell

PRESS RELEASE

January 19, 2012.

ENTREPRENEUR JOHN CAUDWELL IS TITLE CHARACTER IN SKY 1 HD SERIES “THE ANGEL”.

Photo available.

Entrepreneur John Caudwell is to be the title character in a new flagship Sky 1 HD series to be screened in the summer – The Angel.

John, who sold his mobile telecoms business for £1.5 billion in 2006, has more recently been involved in extensive charitable and philanthropic work, but in this series he goes back to his business roots by assessing entrepreneurs who will compete for £100,000 of his money in each programme.

In each of the five 60-minute shows, six contestants will be invited into the studio to compete for that investment in a bid to make their business dreams come true.

But it will not be easy: Caudwell will scrutinise their every word, thought and move.

“Business is tough and uncompromising, and that’s how I’ll be in interviewing and assessing people who are hoping to get £100,000 of my money to invest in their business,” said John.

“I’ve interviewed many would-be senior managers for my businesses, and I know from experience that with the right people on board, you can make almost anything work – but the wrong ones, with the wrong approach, wrong attitude and wrong qualities can be disastrous.

“I’ll be looking for specific and exceptional qualities – perhaps not entirely what these contestants would expect: hunger and ambition can hide in many places in somebody’s character, personality and background.”

John, from Stoke-on-Trent, transformed twenty six mobile phones worth £1,350 each into a £2 billion business. Caudwell Group – best known for the high street chain Phones4U – had by 2000 achieved an annual turnover exceeding £1billion. More recently he has provided millions of pounds worth of support through philanthropic work to projects including the Prince’s Regeneration Trust and its redevelopment of Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, as major benefactor to the Bomber Command Memorial in London’s Green Park, and to the work of the Elton John Aids Foundation amongst others – although his prime charitable interest is his own charity, Caudwell Children www.caudwellchildren.com

John says that the success of the business was mostly to do with the quality of his employees – who could have been successful in any business – although being involved in the fast-growing mobile phone market was a contributing factor.

“Success can be down to the individual and his or her qualities, and the ability to deliver against an idea rather than the idea itself – although the idea is, of course, important,” said John (Twitter @johndcaudwell).

“Bearing that in mind, the show provides a fantastic opportunity to combine analysis of business people’s abilities with an opportunity to help drive young entrepreneurial companies forward, but, best of all, it creates a vast opportunity to generate cash for charitable purposes: all profits from my investments, and all my fees, will go to my charity, Caudwell Children (@caudwellkids), which helps sick and dying – but massively inspirational – children.”

The six contestants – each carefully chosen for character, contrast and their business idea - will be put under extreme pressure throughout a series of rounds specifically designed to address John’s six golden business attributes: drive, ambition, passion, resilience, commercial intellect and leadership.

The rounds will consist of a mixture of individual tasks, head-to-heads and group challenges, and at the end of each round, after the worst performing contestants have faced a thorough grilling from John, one hopeful will be eliminated.  The last remaining entrepreneur in each programme will be awarded £100,000 of John’s own money in investment.

However, it is only after John has put his money on the table does he finally find out what he’s just invested in.

The Angel is a Twofour production for Sky 1 HD. The factual entertainment series was commissioned by Stuart Murphy and will be exec produced by Melanie Leach and Chris Brogden (Twofour) and Antonia Hurford-Jones (Sky). Sarah Caplin is consultant executive producer, and the series producer is Kate Bates.

The Angel is due to be broadcast on Sky 1 HD in the summer. To get involved visit www.sky.com/theangel.

In 2006, John Caudwell sold his 10,000-employee mobile phone business, which included Phones 4u, for £1.5bn. John now concentrates on charitable and philanthropic work including Caudwell Children @caudwellkids.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

JOHN CAUDWELL FEATURES IN CNBC PROFILE: “CNBC MEETS”.

JOHN CAUDWELL

@johndcaudwell

PRESS RELEASE

November 1, 2011.

JOHN CAUDWELL FEATURES IN CNBC PROFILE: “CNBC MEETS”.

Interview with entrepreneur and philanthropist
to air on 2 November at 10.00pm GMT.

Photo here: http://bit.ly/sz3O1e

Video clip here: http://bit.ly/tm4ekj

John Caudwell, who sold his UK-based mobile telecoms business including high street brand Phones 4u for £1.5 billion in 2006, features in CNBC’s “CNBC Meets” series - which profiles some of the world’s most successful people - on Wednesday, 2 November at 10.00pm GMT.

CNBC’s guest presenter, Tania Bryer, speaks with Caudwell about how he built his business from nothing, and now focuses on charitable and philanthropic work,

In this exclusive interview, Caudwell talks candidly about his poverty-stricken childhood growing up on a council estate in Stoke-on-Trent, how he was bullied at school, and about his first business ventures - which failed.  He also talks openly about how he built up his mobile phone empire – and the sacrifices he had to make along the way.

Caudwell discusses the raid on his family home in 2010 and how he was nearly killed defending his family; he also talks and the importance of philanthropy in his life - as one of Britain's active philanthropists he has raised millions of pounds to help sick and disabled children. 

The programme looks at how he gives back to make a real difference to people's lives via Caudwell Children, @caudwellkids, the charity he founded which raises millions of pounds, and  also at his support of the NSPCC and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Filmed on location at his old home, his schools and at the Jacobean estate in Staffordshire where he now lives with his family – and including interviews with The Duchess of York, Sir Elton John and singer Peter Andre - this episode takes viewers on an inspirational rags to riches journey which is truly inspiring.

First transmission date:  2 November 2011, 10.00pm GMT.

Transcript and review copies of the programme are available upon request.

Presenter - Tania Bryer

Producer / Director- Jennifer Linton

Editor - Brian Watkinson

Executive Producers - Tania Bryer & Niaz Samadizadeh

The CNBC Meets series, which is sponsored by Gulf Air, has already featured up close and personal interviews with Tamara Mellon (Jimmy Choo), Richard Desmond (Northern & Shell) and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

CNBC is available in the UK on all major pay-tv platforms:  Sky (channel 505), Virgin (613), Talk Talk (510), Freesat (210).

Ends

Notes to Editors

About CNBC

CNBC is the leading global broadcaster of live business and financial news and information, reporting directly from the major financial markets around the globe with three regional networks including CNBC in Asia, CNBC in EMEA and CNBC in the US.  CNBC.com provides live streaming as well as an extensive video archive, database and analytical financial tools.  CNBC is dedicated to CEOs, senior corporate executives; the financial services industry and private investors.  The channel is available to more than 390 million homes worldwide.  CNBC is a division of NBCUniversal.  www.cnbc.com

For more information, please contact:

Hugo Foulds

CNBC

hugo.foulds@cnbc.com 020 7653 9398

John Caudwell PR:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk 07788 978800

johndcaudwellblogspot.com

YouTube: CaudwellPhilanthropy

CAUDWELL: EU REFERENDUM TALKS - UK NEEDS MORE SOVEREIGN CONTROL OVER ITS AFFAIRS.

JOHN CAUDWELL

@johndcaudwell

PRESS RELEASE

October 22, 2011.

CAUDWELL:  EU REFERENDUM TALKS - UK NEEDS MORE SOVEREIGN CONTROL OVER ITS AFFAIRS.

The three main political parties at Westminster have told their MPs to vote against a motion calling for a referendum to be held on UK membership of the EU. Commenting, entrepreneur John Caudwell said:

“Such a referendum would be a distraction but we do need commitment from our government to drive a reduction in the level of control the EU has over the UK - and for the UK to regain much more sovereign control over its own affairs.

“Europe has been a huge political experiment; in fact, you could argue it’s actually been an ego trip, guaranteeing a place in the history books for its architects. The whole concept had some obvious advantages, but the huge disadvantages have been the loss of sovereign control, a significant increase in bureaucratic costs, and, for those who were trapped in the Euro, the inability of their economies to make the absolutely crucial economic adjustment of currency fluctuation – the UK should certainly never, ever consider going into the Euro.

“In fact, we should never have gone into Europe; it’s been a bureaucratic nightmare. But we’re in, for now, and we need to be on different terms than other EU states.”

In 2006, John Caudwell sold his 10,000-employee mobile phone business, which included Phones 4u, for £1.5bn. John now concentrates on charitable and philanthropic work including Caudwell Children @caudwellkids. John Caudwell videos on YouTube search CaudwellPhilanthropy

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

STEVE JOBS: QUOTE FROM JOHN CAUDWELL.

JOHN CAUDWELL

@johndcaudwell

QUOTES

October 6, 2011.

STEVE JOBS: QUOTE FROM JOHN CAUDWELL.

“Steve Jobs challenged all the longstanding mobile phone manufacturers - who had massive market share - and came from nowhere, not only to beat them at their own game, but to virtually kill them. He revolutionised the mobile phone industry. His application-driven smart phone set the benchmark from which all phones would be judged.”

In 2006, John Caudwell sold his 10,000-employee mobile phone business, which included Phones 4u, for £1.5bn. John now concentrates on charitable and philanthropic work including Caudwell Children @caudwellkids .

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

A-LEVEL RESULTS: “TOO MUCH PEER PRESSURE” TO GO TO UNIVERSITY, SAYS CAUDWELL.

JOHN CAUDWELL

PRESS RELEASE

August 17, 2011.

A-LEVEL RESULTS: “TOO MUCH PEER PRESSURE” TO GO TO UNIVERSITY, SAYS CAUDWELL.

Video interviews: YouTube Channel CaudwellPhilanthropy

Businessman and philanthropist John Caudwell says in some cases there's way too much peer pressure on young people to go on to university after they complete their A levels.

Sixth form students get their life-shaping exam results on August 18, 2011, but Caudwell says that while they should be aiming for straight 'A's across the board, a fast-track into a top university place should not be the be-all and end-all.

Caudwell, who made his estimated £1.5 billion fortune by growing and selling his mobile phone business – which included high street retailer Phones 4u – says that while formal education is an essential route for many young people, it’s not the best choice for everybody.

"There’s a group of people who feel pressed to do 'A' levels and university who actually would be much better just getting out there and going for it,” he said (video – 43 seconds).

"Clearly, for certain people, further education is absolutely the way forward, certainly if you're going into a professional environment where you need those qualifications. It also gives them a chance to develop themselves emotionally and intellectually, and enhance their education at the same time.

"But I don't think formal education necessarily plays an essential part in being a business success, in fact, possibly in some cases quite the reverse. I firmly believe that a challenging childhood that creates that drive, passion and desire to succeed is one of the strongest attributes to actually being successful (video – 42 seconds).

"Of course, you do need to be intelligent, there's no getting away from that, but being intelligent doesn't mean you have to go to university; being in a vocational situation, being in an entrepreneurial environment, and pushing for success, might be a way better education for some people than spending five years on further education.”

John Caudwell says his business success is largely down to taking a me-too idea, applying six critical business success factors, and doing it bigger and better.

"The opportunities these days from an ideas point of view are immense. The internet, the whole 'e' side of life, gives you massive scalability throughout the world. You've still got to come up with the idea, but even the less spectacular ideas can be made massively successful by having those six critical success factors (video – 50 seconds)," he said.

"Let's face it, who would have thought you could have made a fortune out of mobile phones by just being 'me-too'. That's all I had - I had a me-too proposition. Everybody sold Nokia, everybody sold Motorola, everybody connected to Vodafone airtime; all I did was do it bigger and better."

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

+44 (0)7788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

YouTube Channel CaudwellPhilanthropy

Twitter @johndcaudwell

Flickr CaudwellPhilanthropy