Graham Dacre opens his heart to Canon J John 

Norfolk Christian entrepreneur Graham Dacre, CBE, has spoken to Canon J John about being defrauded out of £12m, his dream of building a church, dark times in his life and his love of preaching the Gospel. Keith Morris reports.

After starting out as a used car salesman, Graham went on to build the Lind Automotive Group which had almost 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of £500m. 

Graham’s grandfather, who was an evangelist and an entrepreneur, gave him his first break at the age of 20 with a job at a garage. He went from one garage to 23 garages, plus a large property portfolio.
 
But it was an encounter in a sauna with church pastor Sedley Pimlott that completely transformed Graham’s life: “I went from black and white to colour, from being unknowing to being known. I had a relationship with Christ. It was amazing and totally and utterly transforming,” said Graham on the Facing the Canon series.
 
As a car salesman, or in life more generally, Graham says: “I always tried to be basically honest. My faith determines what I do, how I say it, what I think. It impacts everything. Today I would say that success is having peace in your heart.”
 
The Lind car empire was sold in 2006 for £108m when Graham had a dream of building a church. “I felt God saying, one day I was going to build a church,” he said. “So when I sold up I did my best to build and grow a church in Norwich called TLC. I ran the church for seven years and it was probably the hardest thing I have ever done, but probably the most profound and beneficial thing I have ever done. Leading people is a challenge but I look back on those years with great affection.
 
“I eventually had to let the church go because of a divorce – and there is a real sadness there. It is tough but the Lord has not taken away the gift of evangelism from me – on a one-on-one basis.”
 
As well as how to make money, Graham knows the value of generosity: “I learnt early on the benefit of giving and he who waters will himself be refreshed,” he said. “I always tithe and give out of submission to God and out of humility in giving to God.
 
“I remember the tithe I made when I sold the business. It was a multi-million pound tithe and I did it joyfully. That is God’s money.”
 
But all did not go smoothly when Graham sold the car business and he made what he says was his “biggest mistake”.
 
“I was approached by a very clever consortium of white-collar criminals who indicated that they could produce money from the banking system. I was convinced eventually that what they were going to do would produce substantial benefit for the Kingdom. In the end it turned out to be a fraud and I had to write-off £12m.”
 
He did eventually get some of it back and the crooks got a total of 47 years in jail, in a high profile trial in 2012. “Am I angry, no, am I bitter, no. It is all part of the rich tapestry of life,” said Graham.
 
When asked by J John if he has any regrets, Graham said: “Absolutely. I regret working so hard and how it affected my children. We all have failings and stuff that we carry. My failings I can only take to God and ask for forgiveness and receive it. And in return I can be more accommodating in forgiving others.
 
“I have faced the blackness of the night many times, but I pushed my way through. But I have always felt God is in control. Have I had failures, losses and hit the buffers on one or two deals – yes. But I never quit. If six out of ten deals work I am going to come out in front,” said Graham.
 
“Today I judge myself in two ways. Do I like how I think and do I like how I act. I am very comfortable in my own skin and don’t look back with great condemnation. I am grateful to God for what I achieved and I have more than sufficient.
 
“You don’t find many wealthy people who are either happy or satisfied. I enjoy what I have with a grateful spirit and heart and that keeps me humble and broken before God.”
 
Graham says he now lives in a big community in London and is enjoying that and that he still has a passion for sharing his faith: “I just love sharing the Gospel and leading people to Christ and seeing them flourish,” he said.
 
“If you look back and be grateful for the things God has done and put yourself in his hand.
If you put your future and your life in God’s hands, you will be blessed,” Graham reflects. “Even if you don’t have everything, you will be blessed because you will be happy with what God is doing in your life. Put everything in God’s hands and you will come through and you will be blessed out of your socks. God is faithful and he is the giver of all good things.”
 
You can hear Graham talk about his life at the Norwich FGB dinner on December 12 at the Mercure Hotel, full details here.
 
You can watch the full Canon J John interview – Facing the Canon -  on YouTube here

Picture of Graham Dacre during the J John interview, courtesy of the Philo Trust.