Oxfam ‘extremely grateful' for former Compass boss' bequest

Oxfam has said it is "extremely grateful" for a reported £41m bequest made by former Compass group chief executive Richard Cousins.

Cousins died alongside four members of his family in a tragic seaplane accident near Sydney, Australia, on New Year's Eve.

He was with his two sons, fiancé and her daughter returning from a restaurant in Jerusalem Bay when the sight-seeing seaplane went down in the Hawkesbury River, near the suburb of Cowan. The crash killed all six occupants of the seaplane, including the pilot

Cousins is understood to have left the charity £41m in his will under a common tragedy clause, to be invoked in the event of members of his immediate family being killed in a collective event, according to The Sun newspaper.

If the reported donation is accurate it would be more than double the total amount Oxfam received in gifts left through wills in 2016-2017.

Oxfam told The Caterer: "We are extremely grateful for this bequest of which we have only recently been notified. We are working with the family and our board of trustees to identify how the money will be used."

Industry pays tribute to Richard Cousins who ‘made us all raise our game'>>

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