The Conservative Party’s general election warchest was handed a £1m boost this week after a fundraising dinner attended by hundreds of City benefactors and a handful of Cabinet ministers.
Sky News has learnt that the Tories’ latest City dinner, held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Mayfair, raised over £900,000 for the party’s coffers.
Sources said ministers including Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary; John Glen, chief secretary to the Treasury; Suella Braverman, the home secretary; and Andrew Griffith, the City minister all attended.
Approximately 400 people attended the event, according to insiders.
It was organised by Malik Karim, the senior City banker who served as party treasurer for a period.
A party spokesman said: “Our second City dinner was a huge success, bringing together senior figures from the City and industry, raising money for our election warchest.
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“Our conference in Manchester next week will break records for corporate sponsorship and see over 350 CEOs and chairmen attend.”
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The dinner was staged amid an increasingly fierce battle for private sector support ahead of an election that will be staged by the end of next year.
Earlier this month, Sky News revealed that the Tories had recently received one of the party’s biggest-ever donations – a £5m handout from Frank Hester, a healthcare software tycoon.
Concern about the state of the Tories’ finances had been growing after Boris Johnson’s defenestration as leader, but the latest figures from the Electoral Commission also revealed a number of other big donations.
