Bio

Simon received a first-class honours degree from Bristol University and then spent two years at the city merchant bankers, Singer & Friedlander limited. Simon was then Managing Director of Thomas Estates Ltd, a company acknowledged as one of the main innovators in the bingo and amusement industry in the UK, until he sold it to Riva gaming in Aug 2006. He is now Executive Chairman and majority shareholder of Hippodrome Casino limited, the extensive leisure casino complex above Leicester Square tube station which opened in July 2012. The project started in 2005. The investment of £45 million in the theatre building and adjacent Cranbourn Mansions, both Grade 2 listed heritage buildings, created one of the West End’s premier entertainment venues, 80,000 ft2 with three floors of casino, nine bars, an award winning steak house, a Chinese restaurant, two private dining rooms, a dedicated cabaret theatre, home of the famous ‘Magic Mike Live’ show, Pokerstars live poker rooms and more. It employs over 680 people, one of the largest single-site employers in the area, and entertains tens of thousands of customers a week. He was the youngest ever President of the industry trade association BACTA and was also a member of the equivalent committee of the Bingo Association. He is a past chairman of the casino association NCF. The various roles have led to high level involvement with the Government, MPs, the Gambling Commission, DCMS and HMT. He is also a Director of Next Generation Australia (Health & Tennis Clubs), World Gaming Tech (Electronic gaming), the Heart of London Business Alliance, 2 police IAGs, and was a trustee of Gamcare, the UK's main problem gambling charity from 2006 to 2019, and a Commissioner on the West End Commission. He lives in central London with his wife and three children, is a member of Mensa, speaks French and loves alpine skiing and his Peloton.