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A donation of £30,000 to Reform UK in the form of private flights was – contrary to what was recorded in official filings – funded by a ‘credit’ from the air firm’s owner.
A company is only a legitimate donor when it gives from its own resources. It cannot lawfully act as a mere conduit for an individual’s money. There is no allegation of wrongdoing of Dryden.
However, the revelation throws into question whether the true source of the donation was hidden by Nigel Farage’s party.
In June, Byline Times reported on a donation of £30,000 recorded by the Electoral Commission to Reform UK from Volare Aviation Ltd in February this year.
The firm’s legally-required accounts were months overdue at the time, and are now more than 230 days overdue.
In its initial response to questions, a spokesperson for Volare Aviation told Byline Times it provided aviation services to Reform Party UK Limited, requested through Reform personnel, to carry Reform figures and “associated attendees” around the country, and invoiced Reform at normal commercial rates.
But the firm added a detail not recorded by the elections watchdog, which was that Reform’s account with the company included a £30,000 “credit associated with support from Mr Dustin Dryden,” the company’s owner.
If the £30,000 in value actually came from Dryden personally, and the company was simply the vehicle it passed through, then the true donor is Dryden and Reform UK recording ‘Volare Aviation Ltd’ as the donor with the Electoral Commission was inaccurate.
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Companies House records describe the South African-raised businessman as British and resident in England. If he is on a UK electoral register he would himself be a permissible donor. The question is whether Reform UK hid the true source of its funding for private flights.
Party treasurers are legally responsible for delivering accurate donation reports and for verifying permissibility within 30 days of receipt. If Reform knew or ought to have known the true source differed from what was filed, it is potentially legally exposed.
Byline Times has been investigating a number of companies with late corporate filings, insolvency issues and strike-off action which have nonetheless donated large sums to Reform UK in the past two years.
The £30,000 un-reported ‘credit’ from a private flight company’s owner is just the latest in a long list of unanswered questions over Reform UK’s finances, including the true nature of the £5 million ‘gift’ to Nigel Farage from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the 2024 General Election, unreported funding from convicted fraudster George Cottrell, and the source of funds for his mother’s £750,000 in donations to Reform in recent years.
Questions to Answer
The Electoral Commission (6 July) said it was “aware of this matter and [is] considering it under our regulatory remit.” On being pressed, the political finance regulator confirmed the matter “is not the subject of an investigation by the Commission.”
Dr Sue Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, told Byline Times: “These new revelations, piling on top of other recent stories, expose the ongoing loopholes in our political finance rules which still need to be tackled.
“We urgently need more robust requirements on donors (whether individuals or companies) to declare whether they are actually the true donor, so as to make the criminal deterrent against individuals acting as intermediaries far stronger.”
Dr Hawley called for “strong enforcement” – including through a properly resourced Electoral Commission, working with a specialised police force, to police the rules.
“Without proper enforcement, money that comes from impermissible sources will continue to seep into our politics,” she said.
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In a joint response for Volare Aviation and Dryden on 13 July, the company stated that nothing in its earlier correspondence was “intended to express a legal characterisation of those arrangements for the purposes of electoral legislation or Electoral Commission reporting” and that it had described the arrangements solely as reflected in its own records.
It declined to comment on the Electoral Commission filing for the £30,000 in flights, the legal characterisation of the donation, third-party reporting obligations, or the application of electoral law, saying these were matters for Reform UK and the Electoral Commission.
The firm also failed to deny that Dryden personally funded the £30,000, and did not answer questions on that point. The spokesperson said they would not engage in further correspondence.
Dryden’s Business History
In interviews Dryden has stated his origins are South Africa and Zimbabwe, and moved from South Africa to the UK in the 1990s. He is listed as British and resident in England on Companies House records.
Before Volare, Dryden founded and ran Hangar8, a business-jet management and charter firm based at London Oxford Airport (the same base Volare uses now). It listed on London’s alternative ‘AIM’ stock market and grew rapidly, at one point reporting over $12 million in annual profits and expanding into Africa and emerging markets. Hangar8 managed jets for wealthy clients.
In a December 2014 reverse takeover, Gama Aviation bought out Hangar8, and Dryden subsequently left the company. At the time of his departure, his shareholding was valued at around £8 million.
Years of High Court litigation followed, with Gama Aviation claiming Dryden owed the company money. Dryden in turn claimed Gama owed him up to £6.1 million. He eventually settled with the company, with Dryden handing over cash and assets, though the amount was undisclosed.
Volare Aviation said it never contracted with, invoiced or provided services to Nigel Farage personally, though Byline Times did not allege that in correspondence.
Concerning its overdue accounts (year to December 2024, due 30 November 2025), the firm said these were being finalised following changes to accounting personnel and systems and would be filed “as soon as practicable.”
Reform UK did not respond to requests for comment.
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