Swedish sports magnate gives the Tories £250,000

A Swedish sports gear multi-millionaire who counts Björn Borg and the Duke of York among his friends is bank-rolling the Conservatives.

Johan Eliasch, who made much of his money by transforming the ailing Head sports company, has given £250,000 to Iain Duncan Smith's party through a little known investment company. The businessman, whose successful forays into the film industry include production of the recent BBC series The Scarlet Pimpernel, is now one of the Tories' biggest private donors.

Mr Eliasch, whose wealth is estimated at £250m, hosted a holiday in Phuket, Thailand, attended by Prince Andrew two years ago. He met the Duke at a charity tennis tournament he organised at Buckingham Palace between Borg and John McEnroe.

Records of donations to the Conservative Party for the last quarter of 2002 show £250,000 was received in September from a company called Milcentro. The firm, of which Mr Eliasch is the only director, has since changed its name to ECJ Investments. There is nothing improper about the donation as it was made by a company registered in Britain.

The Tories received a total of £1,985,492 in donations in the last quarter of last year. Labour received £1,861,021.