Shapps was appointed yesterday (25 October) when freshly-installed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak decided on his new cabinet. 

He had been appointed home secretary by ill-fated PM Liz Truss after previous incumbent Suella Braverman quit the role. 

Braverman is now back in the Home Office hot seat under Sunak. 

Shapps is the majority shareholder in London design and printing business Printhouse Corporation, based in north London not far from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.  

His appointment as the head of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will at least give the industry some hope of a sympathetic and knowledgeable ear at the department. 

At his first meeting with BEIS yesterday, Shapps told staff: “The department clearly has a huge agenda, in particular on energy prices. Let's get to work.”

Delighted to become Business Secretary in @RishiSunak adminstration with Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to look after. https://t.co/PHqBBy26vO

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 25, 2022

He takes over from Jacob Rees-Mogg, and becomes the fourth business secretary in the space of two years. 

Shapps had previously been sacked as Transport Secretary when Liz Truss took over from Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, having not supported Truss in the leadership election. 

He has had a varied and colourful political and business career, and also holds a pilot’s licence. 

Shapps is the MP for Welwyn Hatfield and recently cut the ribbon on a new press at constituency business Silver Fox.