Steve Morgan
Encyclopedia
Stephen Peter Morgan OBE (born 25 November 1952) is an English
businessman, philanthropist and chairman of Premier League football team Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
.
in 1994, ultimately becoming a FTSE
250 Company.
The 1990s saw Morgan also invest in hotels, developing St David’s Park Hotel in North Wales
and Carden Park in Cheshire, eventually merging his interests into the De Vere Group.
In November 2000, after 26 years, Morgan stepped down as Redrow Chairman, although his company, Bridgemere, remained one of its largest shareholders. He eventually rejoined the Redrow Board in March 2009 as Deputy Chairman and Chairman-Designate after having rebuilt his stake in the company.
In 1992 Morgan was awarded the OBE for his services to the construction industry. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Builders
, and holds Honorary Fellowships at Cardiff University
, Liverpool John Moores University
and Glyndwr University.
The 2009 Sunday Times Rich List
placed him as Britain's 146th richest with an estimated £350million fortune.
supporter, having followed the club from the days of Bill Shankly
. Having built up a 5% stake in the club, after a series of rebuttals and disputes with then owner David Moores
, he made a counter bid to that of then Prime Minister of Thailand
, Thaksin Shiniwatra.
, in 2007 an opportunity arose to purchase Wolverhampton Wanderers
, a club which he had previously regarded as his “second club”. In a unique deal Morgan agreed to buy the Club from Sir Jack Hayward for a token fee of £10 on condition he invested £30 million in the Midlands club.
The takeover was formally completed on 9 August 2007 when Morgan became Chairman of the club. On handover, Sir Jack Hayward stated that Morgan “had had a heart transplant – from Liverpool
to Wolverhampton
.” In May 2009 Wolves were promoted, as champions, from the Championship to the Premier League.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
businessman, philanthropist and chairman of Premier League football team Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
.
Business career
Training as a site engineer, in 1974 Morgan borrowed £5,000 from his father to buy his then employers, Wellington Civil Engineering, which was on the verge of going out of business. He developed this company into the builder Redrow plc. Under his chairmanship, Redrow was floated on the London Stock ExchangeLondon Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1994, ultimately becoming a FTSE
FTSE
FTSE may refer to:* The FTSE Group* Stock market indices published by the FTSE Group, particularly the FTSE 100 Index on the London Stock Exchange* The Fundamental theorem of software engineering...
250 Company.
The 1990s saw Morgan also invest in hotels, developing St David’s Park Hotel in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
and Carden Park in Cheshire, eventually merging his interests into the De Vere Group.
In November 2000, after 26 years, Morgan stepped down as Redrow Chairman, although his company, Bridgemere, remained one of its largest shareholders. He eventually rejoined the Redrow Board in March 2009 as Deputy Chairman and Chairman-Designate after having rebuilt his stake in the company.
In 1992 Morgan was awarded the OBE for his services to the construction industry. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Builders
Chartered Institute of Building
The Chartered Institute of Building is a body that represents professionals who work within the built environment in the United Kingdom.- History :...
, and holds Honorary Fellowships at Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
and Glyndwr University.
The 2009 Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
placed him as Britain's 146th richest with an estimated £350million fortune.
Liverpool
A fanatical football fan, Morgan was a life-long Liverpool F.C.Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
supporter, having followed the club from the days of Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
. Having built up a 5% stake in the club, after a series of rebuttals and disputes with then owner David Moores
David Moores
David R Moores is the former chairman and now honorary life president of Liverpool F.C..-Liverpool FC:He became Chairman on 18 September 1991. He owned 17,850 shares in Liverpool F.C. which represented 51% of the club. His uncle, Sir John Moores, was chairman of Everton, never Liverpool FC,...
, he made a counter bid to that of then Prime Minister of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Thaksin Shiniwatra.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
After Moores sold Liverpool to George Gillett and Tom HicksTom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
, in 2007 an opportunity arose to purchase Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
, a club which he had previously regarded as his “second club”. In a unique deal Morgan agreed to buy the Club from Sir Jack Hayward for a token fee of £10 on condition he invested £30 million in the Midlands club.
The takeover was formally completed on 9 August 2007 when Morgan became Chairman of the club. On handover, Sir Jack Hayward stated that Morgan “had had a heart transplant – from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
.” In May 2009 Wolves were promoted, as champions, from the Championship to the Premier League.