A £700million British tech entrepreneur once branded ‘Britain’s nicest boss’ has today been accused of sexual misconduct and bullying of staff.
Lawrence Jones, 51, who is worth £700million and attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding last year, runs cloud computing firm UKFast based in Manchester.
The business has previously features in Sunday Times’ lists for ‘Best Companies to Work For’ and ‘Great Place to Work’ because staff get free holidays and could take time out in their working day to use the office recording studio or even have a nap.
But an investigation by the Financial Times has claimed two female employees have accused him of sexual assault and unwanted sexual advances.
Mr Jones emphatically denies the allegations, saying that ‘they are also hurtful and damaging, especially to my wife, our family, and the UKFast team.’
Lawrence Jones MBE, 51, who last year attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is one of the UK’s 250 richest people and runs cloud computing firm UKFast (pictured: at an ice rink he set up outside his office for the winter, left; and inside the building, right)
Jones counts Sir Richard Branson among his friends and has holidayed with him in the Caribbean and in the Swiss Alps
The married father-of-four has been accused of waving a sex toy at his 20-year-old PA after taking her to a sex shop just after she started her job, the FT said.
One woman, who hasn’t been named, claims she was molested by Mr Jones at his homes in Wales and Switzerland.
In 2015, Jones was awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to the digital economy
She told the FT: ‘[Mr Jones] would wake me up with his hands under the duvet. It was frightening. He would have his hands under my knickers’.
He is also accused of knocking a glass of water into an employee’s lap, asking: ‘Am I making you wet?’
There are allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and a culture of bullying at his IT business.
And the FT claims that Mr Jones would sometimes walk the office with no shirt on , according to interviews with 30 former UKFast staff.
Mr Jones said last night he and his wife, Paige, are ‘hugely proud of how amazing the business we have built together is.’
Jones, who asks to be called ‘Loz’ or ‘LJ’, is said to have walked around the office bare-chested and whether in meetings or at socials, he would have female employees sit on his lap.
UKFast offers youngsters a chance to fast-track their careers and many are overjoyed to be recruited directly by Jones to his office of 400 employees in Manchester.
The UKFast offices in the Birley Fields area of Manchester, where 400 staff are employed
In the fun-loving traditions of Silicon Valley, the office features slides from the top floor down to the lobby, there is a gym, a giant chess board, games room and beers are served at the bar on Friday nights.
During the summer the car-park is decked out with sun loungers, while in the winter it becomes an ice-rink.
Other perks include free private healthcare and use of Jones’ properties, Le Farinet in Verbier, and the Castell Cidwm Lakehouse near Mount Snowdon, for action-packed team bonding.
In 2015, Jones was awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to the digital economy and Princes Anne has visited his office after granting it a Princess Royal Training Award in 2018.
Jones has donated £100,000 to the Conservative party since 2017 and was pictured with Boris Johnson at the Tory party conference last month.
A spokesman said: ‘The Financial Times’ claims of unlawful behaviour are wholly untrue. I have not been provided with any proper details of any of these allegations. These are false claims by anonymous individuals which are completely at odds with the workplace culture which I have always promoted.
‘The allegations are hurtful and damaging, and particularly upsetting for my wife, our family and the UKFast team. We have dedicated 20 years of our lives to UKFast and we are hugely proud of how amazing the business that we have built together is. We take great pride in the fact that our team have over the past 10 years been responsible for UKFast featuring regularly in the Sunday Times’ “Best Companies To Work For” list and similarly in the “Great Place to Work” list’.