Just Stop Oil supporter and Labour mega-donor Dale Vince lived a life of "excessive consumerism" involving private jets, luxury cars and expensive champagne, the High Court heard yesterday.
The green energy tycoon's commitment to a sustainable lifestyle was questioned by his ex-wife Kate Vince during their ongoing divorce proceedings.
Kate, 50, told the court that periods of their marriage had been marked by "an exceptionally high standard of living" despite her former husband's public eco-warrior image.
The revelations emerged as the couple battle over the division of their wealth, with Dale estimated to be worth £100 million through his green energy firm Ecotricity.
Dale Vince
PA
In her written evidence, Kate said: "It is not correct that Dale has made it his life's mission to lead a low-impact life since the early 1980s. Although he had an interest in sustainability, he had no problem participating in conspicuous consumerism."
She detailed how Dale, "travelled by private jet, drank imported champagne and wine, and went on multiple international holidays."
The couple's home featured a "cardboard mountain" of discarded boxes from their purchases, which Vince described as "excessive consumerism."
Their luxurious lifestyle included a helicopter ride on their wedding day, two private jet flights, first-class travel, and ownership of a 56ft luxury yacht. They also owned top-of-the-range petrol cars and wore designer clothing.
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Dale Vince is the co-owner of Forest Green Rovers FC
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The Vinces, who married in 2006, were formally divorced earlier this week as their High Court battle continues.
The court heard that between April 2022 and May 2024, Dale donated £5.46 million to the Labour Party, alongside other significant donations.
These included £100,000 to the Cheltenham Muslim Association and £8.46 million to his Green Britain Foundation. Kate claims she discovered these "unprecedented" donations through social media and newspaper articles rather than from her ex-husband directly.
"I have pointed out that this is 'our' money, but he has simply high-handedly gone ahead with this," she told the court.
Lawyers for Kate are seeking a 50 per cent share of the couple's assets, including the green energy firm Ecotricity. In written submissions to the court, Dale's lawyer Lewis Marks KC defended his client's lifestyle choices.
"Occasionally drinking champagne (even Dom Perignon) and recycling cardboard boxes, and even briefly owning a Range Rover or other petrol vehicles, taking two private jet flights in 21 years – the most recent in 2010 – or buying designer clothes, do not amount to the kind of opulence to which [Mrs Vince] now aspires," he said.
The court heard the couple had previously lived a "relatively modest" lifestyle before the sale of The Electric Highway, their first national electric vehicle charging network. This sale prompted a spending "spree" that included paying off a mortgage, buying another property and making home improvements.
The hearing in front of Justice Cusworth is due to conclude later this month.
