Reading entrepreneur honoured for charity work

A successful entrepreneur and respected philanthropist with a passion for the town of Reading has been presented with an honorary degree from the University of Reading.

John Sykes, founder of Reading charity the John Sykes Foundation, received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration at a ceremony on Thursday 21 July 2022.

Born and raised in Reading from humble beginnings, Mr Sykes spent his early years living close to Cemetery Junction. He left school at 16 and, with the support of his late father, realised his true passion: real estate.

In 1999, Mr Sykes established Sykes Capital, a real estate investment business with a significant property footprint in Reading and beyond.

Having achieved success in the property industry, Mr Sykes turned his attention to philanthropy within the Reading area.

In 2014, he established the John Sykes Foundation, a grant-giving charity focused on improving the lives of disadvantaged individuals and communities in Reading. Mr Sykes has donated 20% of his family’s overall wealth to the Foundation, supporting a wide range of organisations and people involved in the arts, sports, education, and health sectors.

The John Sykes Foundation and the University of Reading jointly set up the Community Fund in 2021 to support University staff who volunteer in the community and need extra funds to make an even bigger difference to the projects and people they are working with.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “John is not only a hugely successful entrepreneur, but also one of Reading’s greatest modern philanthropists, and he has worked closely with the University in recent years.

“We can all be rightly proud of local people, like John, who have used their talents and hard work to achieve success and who, importantly, during that process have kept both the town and its people, and the University in their heart.”