The Vesteys are a wealthy aristocratic family with an empire built on meat, controlling several brands supplying supermarkets and high street retailers. The family – who used to be the UK’s second richest – are ardent supporters of hunting with strong links to the Countryside Alliance. They can be expected to lead the pushback against the government’s proposed ban on trail hunting.
Protect the Wild takes a deep dive into the world of this keen hunting family.
Robin Vestey, Master of Foxhounds and President of the Thurlow Hunt Supporters Club.
A Wealthy Family with Historic Business Roots
The Vestey family is estimated to have a fortune exceeding £719 million and was ranked 228th on the Times Rich List of Britain’s wealthiest individuals. Their financial legacy originates from the Dewhurst butchers business—now sold—and from ongoing commercial activities through the Vestey Holdings group and other investment interests. The family owns extensive landholdings, including the 5,000-acre Stowell Park Estate in the Cotswolds, a sporting estate in North Yorkshire, and approximately 10,000 acres on the Scottish island of Jura.
Historical Business Foundations and Global Trade
Founded in the 19th century, Dewhurst grew into a large-scale meat import business, sourcing products from countries including Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina. Blue Star Shipping Lines, also established by the family, facilitated the transport of frozen meat to the UK market. Business figures Edward and William Vestey expanded the company significantly during this era of imperial trade, and the family eventually built one of the largest privately-owned business conglomerates of the time.
In the 1950s, the family was awarded a hereditary peerage, and over subsequent decades they invested in significant property acquisitions across the UK. The commercial success of Dewhurst contributed to the Vestey family being, for a time, among the wealthiest families in Britain.
International Labour and Land Disputes
In 1966, a landmark labour dispute arose at Wave Hill cattle station in Australia—then under Vestey ownership—when members of the Gurindji community staged a walk-off in protest at employment conditions and in pursuit of land rights. The campaign ultimately contributed to a broader movement for Aboriginal land justice in Australia. A portion of land at Wave Hill was later leased to the Gurindji people in 1971.
In 2005, a Vestey-owned ranch in Venezuela was affected by President Hugo Chavez’s land reform programme. Following a government-led occupation, a negotiated settlement led to part of the land being transferred to state control, while Vestey Holdings retained ownership of other properties. In 2016, an international tribunal ruled in favour of Vestey Holdings, awarding the company compensation of $100 million from the Venezuelan government.
Wealth Management and Legacy
Reports in the media have suggested that family members may receive significant financial gifts upon reaching adulthood, although the precise arrangements remain private. A substantial proportion of the family’s wealth is understood to be managed through trusts and corporate entities, including the Western United Investment Company Limited.
The Vestey family’s Stowell Park Estate in the Cotswolds
Multi-millionaire supporters of hunting
Members of the Vestey family have longstanding associations with hunting and countryside pursuits. Tim Vestey served as a Director of the Countryside Alliance from 2014 to 2018 and is currently listed as a Director of the Puckeridge Hunt. His brother, Robin Vestey, holds positions including Master of Foxhounds and President of the Thurlow Hunt Supporters Club. The family’s support for traditional rural sports, including hunting, is well documented and spans several generations.
In 2023, the Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs (HCS), an anti-hunting activist group, published a report alleging that one of their members was involved in an incident with Tim Vestey, during which they claim he stated the saboteur had “walked into his foot.” This account was published by HCS and has not been independently verified.
HCS has also reported sightings of Robin Vestey attending hunt meets, including occasions where the group alleges that foxes or deer were pursued in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of the Hunting Act 2004. It is important to note that these claims have not resulted in any formal legal proceedings, and no criminal charges have been brought in relation to these incidents. Robin Vestey has also been seen at hunt gatherings, at times riding a quad bike.
A video published by HCS documents some of their encounters and observations related to these events.
Celia Vestey, a member of the Vestey family, was known for her involvement in National Hunt racing as a horse trainer. National Hunt races have historical connections to rural equestrian traditions, including hunting, with some events historically supported or organised by hunt groups. It is also the case that some horses participating in such races may have previously been used in mounted field sports.
In addition to their long-standing interest in countryside activities, members of the Vestey family have reportedly hosted pheasant shooting events on their Gloucestershire estate. Such activities are legally permitted under the UK’s game shooting regulations.
The Vestey family has also held hereditary peerage titles. The title of Baron Vestey was first granted in 1915 during the premiership of David Lloyd George. William Vestey currently holds the title. Members of the family sat in the House of Lords until reforms introduced by the Labour government in 1999 reduced the number of hereditary peers eligible to sit.
George Vestey, CEO of Vestey Holdings
Vestey Holdings and Questions of Reputational Risk
Following a period of restructuring after the decline of Dewhurst butchers, the Vestey family’s business interests were consolidated under Vestey Holdings Limited. William, Robin, and George Vestey are listed as directors of the company.
According to the company’s most recent publicly available financial report, Vestey Holdings estimates its exposure to reputational risk as low. This self-assessment may prompt debate, particularly given the family’s well-documented affiliations with countryside sports, including hunting. For instance, Tim Vestey—who is related to the directors—is listed as a director of the Puckeridge Hunt, and Robin Vestey has been publicly associated with the Thurlow Hunt.
There is growing public scrutiny around hunts’ compliance with animal welfare legislation. In one recent example unrelated to the Vestey family, Warwickshire Police pursued legal action against a hunt as a corporate body under existing UK law. While there is no indication that similar legal action is currently underway involving the hunts named above, such precedents raise broader questions about corporate responsibility and oversight.
Given the family’s associations with hunting, some may reasonably ask whether shareholders and stakeholders in Vestey Holdings are fully aware of the extent and nature of these affiliations, and whether these connections could pose reputational considerations in future.
Vestey group companies include:
Albion Fine Foods based in Dartford, Kent supplies across London and in the South East. The company has a fleet of delivery vehicles.
Cottage Delight based in Staffordshire, supplies farm shops, garden centres and independent retailers. The company advertises vegan products. Cottage Delight’s products are sold by John Lewis, Booths, Lakeland, Dunelm, Amazon, Hampers and Longdan.
Donald Russell supplies meat to retailers and restaurants.
Vestey Foods is an international import/export company supplying foods to retailers, wholesalers and supermarkets including Sainsburys.
WISK works as a supplier for so-called upmarket brands like Navarre, Frisino and Kaviari.
Western Pension Solutions is a pension consultancy for ‘family businesses’, boasting of the family’s success managing their wealth (which will presumably include avoiding tax).
The Pony Club: Recruiting the next generation of hunters
Based at the Lowlands Equestrian Centre in Warwickshire, the Pony Club operates as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and Tim Vestey serves as a director. Founded in England in 1929, it has now expanded globally. Masquerading as a voluntary organisation making horse riding accessible for young people, in fact the Club is a recruiting ground for hunting. According to its entry on Protect the Wild’s Blood Business database:
“No doubt young riders thoroughly enjoy the Pony Club. We have no comments to make on horse-riding per se, but we suspect few of those young people will understand or be aware from the outset that the various Pony Clubs up and down the country are funnelling them into hunting. Google ‘pony clubs and hunts’ and it becomes quickly apparent that every branch of the Pony Club UK (PCUK) feeds directly into a hunt”
Tim Vestey – chairman of the Pony Club and a director of the Puckeridge Hunt
According to the Tedworth Hunt’s website:
“Local hunts have played an important part in the history of the Pony Club. Many Pony Club branches were formed as a way of teaching children how to care for and ride their ponies out hunting”
Pony Club director Tim Vestey is, as we have mentioned, a keen hunting advocate. It’s not hard to see how the Club acts as a gateway whereby young people can be exposed to hunting, and thus bring new blood into this increasingly unpopular cruel sport.
Young people at Melbourne Polo Club – via Wikimedia Commons/Simon East
Closeness to the Royal Family
Unsurprisingly for a powerful and well-connected family, the Vesteys retain a close relationship with the Windsors (who used to be the only family in the country richer than them). The Prince of Wales has an estate in the Cotswolds just a few kilometres from the Vestey’s Stowell Park estate.
The late Sam Vestey held the position of the Royal family’s ‘Master of Horses’ up until 2007. More recently, Lord and Lady Vestey appeared alongside the Queen in the Royal Box at Cheltenham races and stayed with the late Prince Philip at Sandringham. Celia Vestey was Prince Harry’s godmother.
Arthur Vestey is reportedly a friend of Prince William. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were invited to his wedding.
The Countryside Alliance: Advocating for blood sport
Tim Vestey was Director of the Countryside Alliance from 2014 -2018. The pro-hunting Countryside Alliance (CA) is infamous for a large demonstration in the early 2000s marked by violence and animal abuse. CA supporters infamously dumping corpses of horses and cows outside the 2003 Labour Party conference. Documents leaked to The Observer have shown that the Vestey family was a major donor to the CA in the years before these protests took place.
The CA website currently includes a quote from Robin Vestey boasting about the alleged benefits to the public of the Thurlow Hunt’s projects on his Thurlow Estate in Suffolk. The idea that hunts are key to rural land management is being put forward strongly by the CA, although it’s an argument that is unlikely to convince anyone.
The CA, which has been repeatedly denied charitable status, hit the headlines in 2023 when MP Matt Western accused Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe of pro-hunt bias, and pointed out that he had received funding from the CA. Documents released earlier this year have proved that Warwickshire Police had indeed signed a secret protocol with the Warwickshire Hunt. Also in 2023, the CA campaigned unsuccessfully for fox-hunters to be included on the police’s rural crime teams.
As we move towards a consultation on banning trail hunting, its important to know who is likely to oppose the ban. Protect the Wild plans to profile more of hunting’s rich and influential supporters over the coming months.
Check out bloodbusiness.info – a database of businesses complicit in hunting and shooting of birds and mammals. The website lists well over 900 businesses that support the blood sports of hunting with hounds or the commercial shooting of birds, and is helping raise awareness of business sponsorship and involvement in abusing wildlife.
- Read our proposal for a real, workable ban on trail hunting.
- Read our page on ‘Foxes and the law’.
Company logos and directors pictures via company and Pony Club websites, Pony Club image via Simon East/Wikimedia Commons
