Australian tycoon’s firm profiting from UK Home Office asylum contracts amid Epping hotel controversy
Corporate Travel Management has booked dozens of hotels for asylum seekers and reported more than £100m profit in the UK while one contracted site in Epping has sparked protests
An Australian businessman whose company has won large Home Office contracts to house and transport asylum seekers has seen substantial profits even as one contracted site in Epping has become the focus of local protests.
Corporate Travel Management (CTM), founded and led by Jamie Pherous, has been paid under UK government accommodation and transport contracts that, according to reporting, are part of a programme worth more than £1.6 billion. CTM’s UK wing reported more than £100 million in profit in the two years to summer 2024, and the company has been reported to have booked over 50 hotels to house asylum seekers.
The Bell Hotel in Epping, which CTM is reported to have booked to house 138 asylum seekers, became the flashpoint for a national wave of demonstrations after an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in Britain was arrested and later convicted of sexual assault against a minor. Epping Forest District Council has pursued legal action seeking the hotel’s closure, saying its owners did not secure planning permission for a change from normal hotel operations. The Home Office appealed a council decision last month, and the hotel remains open while legal processes continue.
CTM’s early UK work included providing accommodation on the Bibby Stockholm barge, a project that collapsed after the vessel was evacuated in August 2023 when tests found Legionella bacteria. The government later abandoned the Bibby Stockholm scheme. Despite that episode, CTM has continued to secure government contracts for accommodation logistics.
Pherous, who founded CTM in Brisbane in 1994, remains based in Australia. Reporting estimates his personal fortune at about £300 million and notes a high-profile lifestyle that includes a waterfront residence and overseas leisure travel. CTM now employs several thousand staff globally and provides travel and accommodation services to corporate and government clients.
Critics, including the charity Refugee Action, have said that companies such as CTM are profiting from what they describe as an "asylum-industrial complex." CTM disputes characterisations of profiteering. A company spokesperson told reporters: "We have a dedicated accommodation team that works closely with Government on the Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services contract – awarded following stringent competition processes to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. We do not have any profit margin targets on this contract. The terms require us to source accommodation solutions and manage those chosen by the Home Office."
CTM has faced scrutiny for other matters in recent years. Its shares were suspended from trading on the Australian stock exchange after an accounting error was identified in the company’s accounts, and the firm previously denied claims that some listed offices were unstaffed or nonexistent.
Local officials and residents have raised planning and safety concerns about the emergency use of hotels and other sites to house asylum seekers, while government sources say fast-moving operational demands have required contracting external providers to secure accommodation and transport. The surge of small-boat crossings and the volume of arrivals since the change of government last year have intensified pressure on ministers to find short-term places to house people while their claims are processed.
As legal and political disputes over particular sites continue, CTM’s role underlines the wider commercial relationships between private providers and the Home Office in managing migration-related logistics. The company’s finances and contracts will remain a focus for both critics and officials as the government balances operational needs, regulatory oversight and community concerns.