Sue Wright was classed as homeless after leaving care as a teenager, but went onto become a successful lawyer and businesswoman
Sue Wright was classed as homeless after leaving care as a teenager, but went onto become a successful lawyer and businesswoman
A leading Merseyside businesswoman who went from courtroom to boardroom has died aged 57. Sue Wright, a mum-of-five, announced her terminal cancer diagnosis in December last year after suffering from persistent shoulder and back pain.
Sue, a former barrister, was the managing director of the Harrogate Group, a private bridging lender providing finance solutions to UK real estate developers. Born in Kirkby and raised in Southport, she later moved to the Wirral, fostering and adopting five children.
Following her stage 4 gastrointestinal primary cancer diagnosis in December, she told the ECHO: “I have been completely overwhelmed by the love and support I’ve received since my diagnosis.
“Every kind gesture, message, and well wish has meant more to me than I can put into words. As I face this battle, I’m doing so with determination and strength, fuelled by my love for my five children, my fiancé Faisal, and all of my family and friends.
“They are my reason, my courage, and my hope, and with them beside me, I am ready to take this on.
“The deepest tragedy of all of this is the fact that my children who have already been through so much trauma and loss in their earlier lives now face a second episode of unexpected tragedy and loss which is unimaginable and acutely unfair on all of them.”
She described her terminal diagnosis as “devastating”. She had initially been referred to physiotherapy for shoulder pain before the true cause of her symptoms was discovered.
Announcing her death this morning, February 21, her partner and Harrogate Group CEO Faisal Arif said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful Sue Wright, Susan Elizabeth Wright, the beloved partner of Faisal Arif and the heart of our family, who passed away peacefully today.
“Sue was a devoted mother, a deeply loved partner, a cherished sister and a loyal friend to so many. Her strength, warmth, kindness and courage touched the lives of everyone who knew her, and she will be remembered with immense love and pride. She will be profoundly missed and forever in our hearts.”
Sue grew up in foster care from the age of 14 and was subsequently classed as homeless when that placement broke down.
After leaving foster care, she moved into a Salvation Army-run unit in Southport, living semi-independently in a top-floor flat with another teenage girl.
She previously told the ECHO: “We were given money each week to be able to live off. We bought our food from Kwik Save, where my flatmate worked.
“That’s how life was. Going to school, coming home, not studying – because there was nobody behind me to tell me to study or to revise. So I’d watch TV and cook my own dinner and do my own washing and things like that. I grew up very quickly, and it wasn’t a surprise when I left school at 16 with no qualifications. But I realised very quickly I wanted to make something of myself.”
Sue went from being homeless to practising as a barrister specialising in child protection in Liverpool, having attended night college and then university.
Sue earned a law degree, won two elite scholarships to study in New York and attend Bar School in London, and worked on the male-dominated trading floor of Lehman Brothers in the 1990s.
She went on to become one of the UK’s highest-paid family lawyers and built several successful businesses, as well as promoting fostering and adoption.
Just two weeks after her cancer diagnosis, Sue stood on stage at Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium at a fundraising event advocating for the most vulnerable families across the Liverpool City Region.
The event raised more than £100,000 for a number of good causes supporting those in need, including Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Amy and Friends, Age UK, and several additional small charities within the community.
