Talk:Redgate

Simon Galbraith / Restore Britain donation

I previously removed the material concerning Simon Galbraith's £500,000 donation to Restore Britain. Since it has now been restored and expanded, I think it would be better to discuss it here rather than continue reverting.

I do not dispute that the donation occurred or that the Financial Times is a reliable source. My concern is whether this material is sufficiently relevant to Redgate Software to warrant inclusion in what is otherwise a relatively concise history of the company.

The current wording describes the donation as having been made "through the company's former investment arm". However, the preceding paragraph states that Redgate Investments was spun out in 2016, subsequently became solely owned by Galbraith, and was renamed Cade Hill Investments in 2021. By the time of the 2026 donation, therefore, it was a separate company rather than part of Redgate.

I think the main issue is WP:UNDUE. Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy requires articles to represent material in proportion to its prominence in reliable sources, and cautions against giving disproportionate attention to minor aspects of a subject. The fact that Galbraith founded Redgate and remains a non-executive director does not necessarily make his later political activities, or those of a separately owned company, significant events in Redgate's corporate history.

There is also a Wikipedia:BLP. The biographies of living persons policy applies to material about living people wherever it appears on Wikipedia, including articles principally about organisations. Political affiliations and activities are potentially contentious material, so particular care should be taken over relevance, sourcing and weight.

The expanded wording may additionally raise an issue under Wikipedia:SYNTH. Sources showing that Cade Hill originated as Redgate Investments can establish that historical fact, and sources reporting Galbraith's later political donation can establish the donation. However, those facts should not be combined in a way that implies the donation was significant to Redgate unless reliable secondary sources themselves make that connection.

Finally, WP:GOSSIP. A fact being verifiable and the subject of recent news reporting does not automatically mean that it warrants inclusion in an encyclopedic history. The relevant question is its lasting significance to the subject of this article.

For me, the question is therefore not whether the donation happened, but whether reliable independent secondary sources give it significant weight in the context of Redgate itself. At present, I have not seen sourcing showing that the donation affected Redgate's ownership, management, operations or policies, or that reliable sources discussing Redgate regard it as a significant event in the company's history.

I would therefore favour removing the donation sentence. I would also question whether the subsequent history of Redgate Investments after it was spun out warrants this level of detail here unless reliable independent sources establish its continuing significance to Redgate.

Other editors' views would be welcome, particularly on the due-weight and synthesis points. SaltyW (talk) 08:24, 2 September 2026 (UTC)

Hi Salty, I am fine with it being removed, I had thought that the original removal was because there was no evidenced connection to the company either through Galbraith or Cade Hill/ Redgate Investments Ltd so I added that and then added back the donation story. I missed that the objection was on undue terms.

In my personal view, a newsworthy and contentious political donation by a founder and current NED of a company is clearly relevant to the history of that company and its public perception. Especially since, in this case, the original £250,000 donation was completed less than a month after Galbraith stepped down as CEO.

That said, this is a niche page with very low views and, as you say, concise levels of general information (e.g. it doesn't even cover the recent PE acquisition; the controversy around Reflector pricing model; expansion into US and Australia; Davidson stepping down as CEO; Galbraith stepping down as CEO; etc) so I don't think it matters too much if you decide not to include this donation story, which, while important in my opinion, is obviously secondary to other information which is already not included. ~2026-47625-07 (talk) 18:20, 2 September 2026 (UTC)