Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet

Sir Peter George Osborne, 17th Baronet (born 29 June 1943) is a British businessman, who co-founded the interior design firm Osborne & Little in 1968. He is the father of George Osborne, the Conservative politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Sir Peter Osborne
Born (1943-06-29) 29 June 1943 (age 80)
EducationWellington College
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse
Felicity Loxton-Peacock
(m. 1968)
Children4, including George
Parent(s)Sir George Osborne, 16th Baronet
Mary Horn

Early life edit

Peter Osborne was born on 29 June 1943. He is the elder son of Sir George Osborne, 16th Baronet, who as an officer in the Royal Sussex Regiment, was decorated during the First World War, and Mary Horn. Osborne was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, and received an MA from Christ Church, Oxford. He succeeded to the baronetcy, becoming the 17th Osborne baronet of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon, on 21 July 1960, upon the death of his father.

Career edit

In 1968, Osborne and his brother-in-law Anthony Little co-founded Osborne & Little, a successful manufacturer and retailer of upmarket wallpaper and fabrics, opening its initial showroom in Chelsea.[1] It was revealed in 2016 that the firm had made £6 million in a 2004 property deal with a developer from the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, and had not paid any corporation tax for seven years.[citation needed] Osborne's personal wealth, amassed through inheritance and his business career, has been the subject of controversy during his son's political career, especially after an interview with the Financial Times in which he discussed his "expensive tastes", such as the purchase of a £19,000 Italian desk.[2][3][4]

Family edit

On 16 October 1968 Osborne married Felicity Alexandra Loxton-Peacock of Belgravia, London (who subsequently married, in 1979, Sir Anthony Grover, chairman of Lloyd's Register of Shipping, who died in 1981, and thirdly, in 1983, Sir James Dunnett[5]). They had four children:

Arms edit

Coat of arms of Osborne of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon
Crest
A sea lion sejant proper holding the dexter paw a trident sable, headed or
Escutcheon
Gules, on a fess or cotised argent two fountains proper, over all a bend of the last
Motto
Pax in bello ("Peace in war")[6]
Other elements
Red Hand of Ulster

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "George Osborne's family business bounces back". Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Peter Osborne talks personal style: Part One". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  3. ^ Gray, Sadie (9 July 2023). "Osborne's father reveals lavish lifestyle". Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. ^ Davidson, Max. "Sir Peter Osborne: one of us, only richer". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. ^ Announcements, The Daily Telegraph, London, U.K., 28 July 2004.
  6. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 3030–3032. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
Baronetage of Ireland
Preceded by Baronet
(of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon)
1960–present
Incumbent