Eddie Davies CBE (18 June 1946 – 11 September 2018) was a British businessman and philanthropist. He served as chairman of the Strix Group from 1984 to 2006. He was the owner of Bolton Wanderers F.C. until March 2016, when Dean Holdsworth fronted a consortium to take over the club. The Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London are named in his honour.
Eddy Davies | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 June 1946 Little Lever, England |
| Died | 11 September 2018 (aged 72) |
| Education | Farnworth Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Durham University |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Title | Lord of the Manor of Farnworth |
| Spouse | Susan Davies |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
editEddie Davies was born on 18 June 1946 in Little Lever, near Bolton, Lancashire, England.[1][2] He was educated at the Farnworth Grammar School in Farnworth, Lancashire, England.[1][2] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Durham University.[1][3]
Career
editDavies started his career at Avon Rubber.[3] He worked in management at the Scapa Group from 1968 to 1984.[1] He served as chairman of the Strix Group from 1984 to 2006.[1]
He joined the board of directors of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in 1999.[2] By 2003, he became the majority shareholder of Burnden Leisure, which owned Bolton Wanderers.[2] In 2011–2013, he was still the owner of the club.[4][5] In October 2014, it was announced that Davies was ready to sell the club.[6] Davies wrote-off loans to Bolton which, including interest, totalled approximately £175 million.[7] Shortly after his death, it was revealed that, four days before he died, Davies had given Bolton £5 million to help save the club from administration.[8]
He served on the boards of directors of Moonshift Investments, Sula Group, and Squarestone Brasil.[3] He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants since 1985 and the Chartered Management Institute since 1996.[3] He became an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to industry in 2000.[2]
As of 2004, he was the 558th richest man in the United Kingdom, with an estimated wealth of £60million.[2]
Philanthropy
editHe was for a time a Trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[1] The Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries at the V&A are the result of charitable donations from Davies and his wife.[9] Those five galleries include 200 paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, J. M. W. Turner, Sandro Botticelli, Tintoretto, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edgar Degas and Eugène Delacroix.[10]
He made a charitable contribution of £100,000 to the Royal Bolton Hospital in Bolton for the establishment of a coronary care unit.[2] He also made charitable gift to the Manchester Business School,[3] part of the University of Manchester, which led to the establishment of the Eddie Davies Library.[11] He received an honorary doctorate in 2008.[1]
He became a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for charitable services in 2011.[12]
Personal life
editHe was married to Susan Davies.[10] They had two children.[2] They resided on the Isle of Man.[5] He underwent coronary artery bypass surgery in 1996.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Debretts: Eddie Davies Archived 4 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Eddie Davies profile, Manchester Evening News, 12 August 2004
- ^ a b c d e Bloomberg: Eddie Davies OBE
- ^ Jamie Jackson, Bolton Wanderers clinging on thanks to owner Eddie Davies's generosity, The Guardian, 31 December 2013
- ^ a b Matt Scott, Bolton Wanderers have more to worry about than 'crisis-hit' Arsenal, The Guardian, 22 September 2011
- ^ Mark Ogden, Bolton Wanderers for sale, reveals chairman Phil Gartside, The Daily Telegraph, 9 October 2014
- ^ "Bolton owner Eddie Davies to write off loans to ease takeover". BBC News. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ "Eddie Davies: Ex-Bolton Wanderers owner helped save club from administration before death". BBC News. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Victoria & Albert Museum: Room 87: Constable, Turner & the Exhibition Landscape
- ^ a b Refurbishment of the paintings galleries, 2003: The Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries
- ^ "Manchester Business School: Eddie Davies Library". Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ New Year honours list: GBEs, DBEs and CBEs, 31 December 2011