Who is Ocado founder Jonathan Faiman as his £30m superyacht spotted at UK harbour

A £30 million superyacht owned by the grocery mogul founder of Ocado has been pictured at a British harbour. Jonathan Faiman was part of a trio who set up the online grocery and technology business in 2000.

The 56-year-old left the business in 2008, before the company floated on the London Stock Exchange and sold most of his shares in 2010 at the time of its Initial public offering (IPO) for a reported value of £7 million. However, if he had kept hold of them for another 10 years, the share price increased in value, and by May 2020 would have been worth over £500 million.

After his success with Ocado, in 2018, he founded another online grocery business, Today Development Partners, also known as TDP and T0DAY (spelled with a zero). This business proved less successful however, and has been the subject of controversy and litigation.

Faiman was sued by Ocado in July 2019 concerning allegations he had colluded with senior Ocado employee Jon Hilary, to steal confidential information from Ocado. The case was settled in June 2021, following an admission of wrongdoing by the pair and Faiman making a "significant payment" to Ocado.

Married to entrepreneur Kira Faiman, Faiman is still clearly doing alright for himself if his bright red superyacht is anything to go by. The vessel, named Akula after the Russian and Ukrainian word for shark, sailed into Bristol on Tuesday morning (April 1).

Its cost is unconfirmed but it has previously been valued at around £30 million. Weighing around 1,242 tonnes and constructed by Italian shipbuilders Rossinavi on the Tuscany coast, the craft is described as "a luxury private expedition yacht designed with cutting-edge technologies, ensuring unparalleled safety and exceptional seakeeping performance."

The yacht includes four guest staterooms, a gym, massage room, sauna and heated swimming pool, and more than 550 square metres of open deck. The 59.4m long boat can reach a top speed of 15.5 knots, and can hold 10 guests and 13 crew members for up to 30 days at sea.

It is also designed to be able to support scientists with their research activities such as oceanography, marine biology, and marine archaeology.

Registered in the Cayman Islands, the yacht is believed to be heading north from its winter mooring in Portsmouth, before its owner embarks on a scientific research support trip this year.

The owner told Boat International in January that the trip would take the crew to Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the US east coast, “aiming for the Caribbean and ultimately Central America.”