Prime minister Andy Burnham accepted over £345,000 in financial support during the three months before he entered No 10, freshly published transparency records show.
Prominent Labour backer Lord Sainsbury, party grandee Lord Blunkett, and former Greater Manchester night-time economy tsar Sacha Lord were among those funding the prime minister between May and July.
In his former role as metro mayor, the latest register of interests shows he also accepted two Brit Awards tickets worth £3,800 from Sony Music, plus four passes to Glastonbury – where he was speaking last year.
Filings show Lord Sainsbury provided £164,347 in support, which included "office space" alongside the cost of contractors assisting Mr Burnham with "policy and operations" from June.
The prime minister obtained £2,000 from Lord Blunkett for his Makerfield by-election campaign and £25,000 from businessman Gary Lubner toward his Labour leadership bid.
Entrepreneur Mr Lord, previously appointed by Mr Burnham to advise on Greater Manchester’s night-time economy while he served as metro mayor for the region, gave £35,000 toward campaign costs.
Mr Burnham also received £50,000 from a company run by TV producer Charlie Parsons and £10,000 from charity executive Shalni Arora.
ThinkLabour, the thinktank formerly known as Labour Together, gave more than £22,000 in staffing and IT equipment for his office in June, while Ernst and Young provided a secondment to his team worth £16,500 in July.
The register also shows he and his wife own a property in London, which is rented out.
Before the £325,000 worth of donations made during the Makerfield contest and Labour leadership bid, Mr Burnham received four £5,000 donations from the Fire Brigades Union, its northwest regional office, the Communication Workers Union and Unison, for “mayoral” campaigning.
These contributions were made between March and April, when speculation was rife about his potential return to Westminster but he remained tight-lipped about his ambitions.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “It’s right that political campaigns are funded by the generous support of party donors, rather than via the public purse.
“All declarations have been made in line with Parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules.”
Read MoreHousehold energy bills expected to jump to three-year high in October
Andy Burnham to lead UK growth from No 10 North in major power shift
Burnham makes Christmas pledge as he unveils £442m plan to end homelessness
Andy Burnham urged to join EU pact to fix Brexit ‘mess’
‘Prolier-than-thou!’ Burnham accused of playing up working class roots.
Covid U-turns in Boris Johnson’s government were like a ‘slow-moving car crash’
