“Richard's bravery and fortitude during his long fight against cancer was an inspiration to many of us and he will be hugely missed by us all. Our thoughts at this difficult time are with his wife Mary and the rest of his family,” said Andrew Steel, chief executive officer of J O Hambro Investment Management.

Mr Hambro co-founded the company with Anthony Balniel and David Chaplin in 1986 after spells as a director of Hambros Bank and as president of Hambro America. JOHIM was then sold to Credit Suisse in 2001. He stepped down as chairman of UK IFA Money Portal in March, to focus on his health.

He was also a director of several public and private companies and was on the board of a number of cancer charities including Colon Cancer Concern, Macmillan Cancer Relief and the London Clinic.