Merchant Venturers
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A rare glimpse
Why all the fuss about a bunch of strangely-dressed men?
What is the Society of Merchant Venturers?
How do you join?
The ties that bind
Connections with royals
The Society's charities
Dirty money? The Society's investments
What's the extent of their influence?
"Cause for concern"
The inner circle
The outer circle
The Antient Society Of St Stephen's Ringers
Challenge to the Merchants
About the author

What's the extent of their influence?

As the membership list shows, Merchants dominate the business world in Bristol. They are also on almost every major cultural institution in the city and have enormous influence over bodies receiving public funds. Ten Merchants sit on the University Of Bristol's Court - the body that oversees the running of the University. It is alleged that the organisation originally tried to stop the University from being set up, to protect its own technical college. It failed, but insisted that Merchants sit on the University's governing body. (The University of Bristol refused to provide Venue with any information, apart from surnames and initials, of the ten current members.) Three Merchants sit on the board of the youth charity Young Bristol (www.youngbristol.com). Three are on the board that runs the SS Great Britain. Three more are trustees of the Greater Bristol Foundation charity. They also make up half of the committee that controls the Downs.
Their involvement in the Bristol 2008 bid demonstrates how far their presence spreads. Last year the Merchant Venturers donated £25,000 to Bristol Cultural Partnerships Development Ltd, the company behind Bristol 2008. Merchants John Burke and Louis Sherwood are on BCPD's board. Eight out of the 22 Bristol 2008 corporate supporters are organisations with links to existing Merchants. The Bristol 2008 logo is registered at the address of the Merchants' lawyers - Bristol law firm Osborne Clarke (www.osborneclarke.com). BCPD also claims 'responsibility' for @Bristol (www.at-bristol.org.uk), the £97 million tourist attraction on the harbourside. Until 2001, @Bristol's chairman was Nicholas Hood - a Merchant. Hood is still on the board, along with Louis Sherwood. His replacement, Peter Mcilwraith, is also a Merchant. More than £17 million of @Bristol's funding came from the South West Regional Development Agency (www.southwestrda.org.uk), the region's uber-quango that promotes enterprise and development, which counts controversial Wessex Water boss Colin Skellett on its board.