The London based investor Charles Bidwill remains a passionate supporter of New Zealand.

Born in Hawkes Bay, Charles went to primary school in Sydney and secondary school at Christ’s College in Christchurch. In his early career as a share broker Charles began a B.Com at the University of Auckland. His university studies were in constant competition and conflict with the trading floor and when he left New Zealand in 1963 he left his studies as well.

Over the next three years Charles travelled through stock broking firms in Australia, the United States and the UK. He returned to New Zealand to rejoin his old firm which became Statham, Kay, Bidwill & Co. and in that same year, at the age of 26, he became a member of the Auckland Stock Exchange.

At that time Charles became involved in the fight by the then pirate station, Radio Hauraki which was broadcasting from a ship in the Hauraki Gulf. He underwrote a public issue of shares to obtain a broadcasting licence and as a result private radio was born in New Zealand.

In 1969 Charles set out on his own and formed his new share broking firm, based in Auckland, Bidwill, Wakeman, Paine & Co. and at the beginning of the 1980s Charles teamed up with investment banker Alan Gibbs. For the next ten years he was prominently associated with several of the country’s best known companies of the 80s and 90s including Ceramco, Bendon, Baycorp and Steel & Tube.

During this period he was a member of the Business Round Table: a foundation Member of the Sports Foundation: and was on the organising committee of the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games.

Since 1997 he has been based in the UK just outside London, mainly involved in foreign exchange and bonds.