Steve Morgan (businessman)

Last updated

Steve Morgan

CBE
Born
Stephen Peter Morgan

25 November 1952 (1952-11-25) (age 71)
Liverpool, England
OccupationEntrepreneur & Philanthropist
Years active1974–present
Spouse(s)Pamela Morgan
(1973–2000)
Fiona Boustead
(2002–2013)
Sally Toumi
(2016–present)
Children5, Ross Morgan, Lindsey Troughton, Mark Hill, Goldie Morgan & Red Morgan

Stephen Peter Morgan CBE (born 25 November 1952) is an English businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and former chairman of the housebuilders Redrow plc, a former chairman of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., and founder of the charitable Steve Morgan Foundation.

Contents

Early life

Morgan was born in Garston, Liverpool, on 25 November 1952. [1] [2] [3] The son of a plant hire operator, he came from a poor background with what he, in November 2021, called a “tough upbringing”, telling The High Performance Podcast that it was only at the age of seven that he knew what an inside toilet was. [4] He moved home nine times during his childhood and consequently changed school nine times. [5] [6] His parents moved to Colwyn Bay when he was 13, and he was educated at Colwyn High School and Liverpool Polytechnic (now Liverpool John Moores University), [7] where he completed a two-year diploma course. [8]

Redrow

Morgan entered the business world, aged 21, during the 1974 recession. [9] His then employers, Wellington Civil Engineering, were on the verge of going out of business. [10] Wellington was offered a new job laying sewers in Penley and Morgan offered to take it over. [11] After Margaret Thatcher’s reduction in public spending put an end to this work, he went on to develop this company into the housebuilder Redrow plc. [12] Under his chairmanship, Redrow was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1994, ultimately becoming a FTSE 250 Company. [13]

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. [10]

In November 2000, after 26 years, Morgan stepped down as Redrow chairman, [10] although his company, Bridgemere, remained one of its largest shareholders. [14] In 2001 Morgan founded Brownfield specialist company Harrow Estates plc. [15]

In March 2009, Morgan was urged to return by Martin Hughes, the Chief Executive of Redrow’s biggest investor Toscafund, after shares dropped to less than 100p [16] and he rejoined the board as chairman after having rebuilt his stake in the company to 29.9% in order to address the significant losses suffered by Redrow during the financial crisis. [17] By 2010, the situation had improved markedly with the housebuilder reporting a pre-tax profit of £700,000 (compared to a £44.2m loss in 2009). [18] In a 2012 interview with the BBC's economics correspondent, Sarah Dickens, Morgan discussed his reasons for returning to Redrow, which by the time of the interview, had turned the inherited £140 million loss into a £43 million pre-tax profit. [19]

After returning to Redrow, Morgan refocused the company's building projects on providing family homes by launching the New Heritage collection. [20]

In September 2017, it was announced that Morgan would "ease back" to a non-executive chairman role with Redrow. [21] In that year the company announced that pre-tax profits for the year to 30 June jumped 26% to £315 million, with revenues up 20% at £1.66 billion. [22] Operating profit rose again in 2018 to £382 million. [23] On 18 October 2018 Redrow announced its 100,000th customer since Morgan founded the business. [24]

In March 2019, 10 years to the day that Morgan returned, he retired from Redrow. [25] When he left the company, its annual revenue had increased to more than seven times its 2009 figure to £2.1 billion [26] ,profits were £406 million [27] and it was valued at £2.2 billion. [28]

Wolverhampton Wanderers and other football investments

A shareholder and lifelong supporter of Liverpool football club, Morgan attempted several times to buy the club, most notably in 2004 when he made an offer to obtain a controlling share of 51% in return for a cash injection of £73 million. [29] This was rejected, reportedly because it valued the club at £61 million, which the board felt was too low. [30] [31] In an interview in 2021 Morgan disputed the figure stating he had in fact valued the club at £140 million [32]

In 2007, an opportunity arose to purchase Wolverhampton Wanderers, a club which he had previously regarded as his "second club". [33] Morgan agreed to buy the club from Sir Jack Hayward for a token fee of £10 on condition he invested £30 million in the club. [34] The takeover was formally completed on 9 August 2007 when Morgan became chairman. [35] On handover, Hayward stated that Morgan had "had a heart transplant from Liverpool to Wolverhampton". [33] In May 2009, Wolves were promoted, as champions, to the Premier League, but were relegated back to the Championship in May 2012 after three seasons. After suffering a second successive relegation in the 2012–13 season, Wolves played in League One in the 2013–14 season and finished as champions with a record 103 points, returning to the Championship. In October 2013, he was criticised for inviting former Merseyside Chief Constable Norman Bettison as his guest in the directors' box at a Wolves away match. Bettison is a controversial figure for his role in connection with the Hillsborough football disaster in 1989. [36] Wolves responded on its official Twitter account, "The story is that Sir Norman Bettison attended the Bradford City game in the same way he has attended many Wolves games in the past. Steve Morgan and Sir Norman Bettison have known each other for many years. Everyone connected with the club has the utmost sympathy and respect for the victims of Hillsborough and their families." [37] In 2014 Morgan oversaw the opening of the club's multi-million pound Compton Park training complex. [38]

In July 2016, Morgan sold Wolves to the Chinese company Fosun International for £30 million. [39] Morgan later revealed in an interview that he had turned down other offers but had accepted Fosun's bid because of the company's commitment to invest £100m into the club. [40] Morgan signed off with an open letter to Wolves fans in which he described his time owning the club as "an honour and a privilege that I will never forget". [41]

In June 2022, Morgan was linked with a bid to buy financially-troubled Derby County. [42]

Philanthropy

In 2001 he founded the Steve Morgan Foundation, to which he has donated over £300 million, [43] [44] and which has provided support to more than 650 charities [45] to date and funding ongoing awards. In 2022, the Foundation made the biggest ever philanthropic donation to diabetes research in the UK, £50 million. [46]

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, Morgan pledged £1 million a week to charities to help vulnerable members of society cope with the fallout of the virus. [47] [48] That support was credited as a lifeline for hundreds of charities affected by Covid-19 particularly food banks, support for the homeless, domestic abuse charities and mental health organisations. [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] The Foundation reported in December 2020 that Morgan had given over £27 million to charities impacted by COVID-19. [54]

His donations and beneficial projects have included:

Honours

In 1992, Morgan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the construction industry. [67]

He is a fellow of the Institute of Builders, and holds honorary fellowships and doctorates at Cardiff University, [68] Liverpool John Moores University, [69] Glyndŵr University., [70] Wolverhampton University, [71] and University of Chester. [72]

Morgan was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for philanthropic services. [73]

Personal life

Morgan and his first wife Pamela divorced in 2000. [74] They have two children together, Ross and Lindsey. Morgan also has a son with Janet Hill, Mark Hill. [75] In 2002, Morgan married his second wife, Fiona Boustead with whom he has a daughter, Goldie and son, Red. [76] They divorced in 2013. In 2016, he married businesswoman Sally Toumi, [77] with whom he operates the Steve Morgan Foundation. [78]

Morgan owns a second home on the Caribbean island of Antigua. [79] The 2019 Sunday Times Rich List estimated his net worth at £950 million, an increase of £8 million from 2018. [80] The 2020 edition of the Rich List estimated his net worth at £751 million, a fall of £199 million on the previous year. [81]

In February 2019, Morgan received an apology and damages from the Daily Mail after being falsely accused of buying Redrow properties at an undervalue. He commented, having brought a libel claim at the High Court in London, "It is a shame that it has taken 18 months for justice to be served and for the Daily Mail to recognise its wrongdoing, however, I am pleased the record has now been set straight and that we may now draw a line under this issue." The damages were paid towards adapted minibuses for two special needs schools. [82]

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References

  1. ↑ Strachan, Ian (21 January 2016). "Birmingham Post Rich List 2016: No.7 - Steve Morgan". birminghampost.
  2. ↑ Strachan, Ian (22 January 2015). "PROFILE: Wolves owner Steve Morgan is the 7th richest person in the Midlands". birminghammail.
  3. ↑ Thompson, John (6 September 2016). "Redrow posts record profits - as firm founded by Liverpool's Steve Morgan defies Brexit predictions". liverpoolecho.
  4. ↑ Jake Humphrey (15 November 2021). "Work like hell to make your dreams come true!" (Podcast). The High Performance Podcast. Event occurs at 5:40. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  5. ↑ Shah, Oliver (10 February 2019). "Interview: 'This time I'm going for good,' says Redrow's Steve Morgan" . The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  6. ↑ Evans, Harri; Rigg, Danny (10 July 2022). "Millionaire founder of Redrow lived in a caravan with no electricity or water". North Wales Live. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  7. ↑ Dickins, Sarah (21 November 2012). "Profile of Redrow boss Steve Morgan: Timing is key to success - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Dominic Fifield. "Tide turns Morgan's way | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Redrow founder gives £10m to charities impacted by Covid-19". The Guardian.
  10. 1 2 3 "'Business-fan' bidding for Liverpool" BBC.co.uk (Sport), 13 May 2004 (14 August 2009)
  11. ↑ Hughes, Owen (23 October 2018). "School expulsion to millionaire developer for Steve Morgan - who says parts of Wales now a no go area for house building". northwales. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  12. ↑ Jake Humphrey (15 November 2021). "Work like hell to make your dreams come true!" (Podcast). The High Performance Podcast. Event occurs at 2:40. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
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  14. ↑ "Founder of Ewloe-based building firm eyes boardroom return". North Wales Live.
  15. ↑ "Riding leaves Harrow for Northern Trust". Place North West.
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  17. ↑ "Morgan seeks return to board of Redrow". The Financial Times.
  18. ↑ "Redrow returns to profit under Steve Morgan". The Guardian. 9 September 2010.
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  20. ↑ "Heritage Collection launched by Redrow | Kent Online" . Retrieved 4 April 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
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  29. ↑ "Morgan ends takeover bid as Liverpool look abroad". The Independent. 22 December 2004.
  30. ↑ "How Steve Morgan tried to take control; Business Editor Bill Gleeson reports on the entrepreneur's attempt to invest in Liverpool FC". Liverpool Daily Post & Echo . Retrieved 22 December 2013.
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  33. 1 2 Berry, Paul; "Morgan takes Wolves into a new era" BirminghamMail.net , 10 August 2007 (14 August 2009)
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  38. ↑ "WWolves: New academy is a massive boost for Wolverhampton, says Steve Morgan". Birmingham Mail . 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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  40. ↑ "Steve Morgan: Fosun's £100m Wolves promise sealed deal". Express and Star . Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  41. ↑ "Wolves SOLD: Read Steve Morgan's parting message about his legacy". Birmingham Mail . 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  42. ↑ Cusack, Richard (15 June 2022). "Derby County takeover latest: Steve Morgan and Andy Appleby update amid 'positive discussions'". DerbyshireLive. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  43. 1 2 Clarke-Billings, Lucy (16 February 2017). "Scouser gives £200MILLION to charity in one of largest donations in history". mirror.
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  45. ↑ "steve morgan foundation" . Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  46. ↑ "Biggest-ever philanthropic gift to diabetes research brings type 1 cure closer". 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  47. ↑ "Coronavirus: Redrow boss Steve Morgan in £1m charity pledge". BBC News.
  48. ↑ "Cheshire businessman pledges £1m a week to charities hit by virus crisis". Cheshire Live.
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  50. ↑ "How community spirit is helping one Liverpool business during coronavirus shutdown". Evening Standard.
  51. ↑ "'Incredible' £84,000 boost for Wirral Mencap". Wirral Globe.
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  53. ↑ "Thousands of women and girls to benefit from £15m Tampon Tax Fund". UK Government Website.
  54. ↑ "Morgan speaks out about Covid-19". 1 December 2020.
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  66. ↑ "Redrow founder Steve Morgan to help fly 10,000 Ukrainian refugees to the UK for free". Business Live.
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