Tom Farmer

Sir Thomas Farmer, KB, KCSG (b. 10 July 1940, Leith, Edinburgh) is a British entrepreneur.

One of seven siblings from a devout Roman Catholic family, Tom Farmer trained as an apprentice in engineering, but left in 1964 to found his own firm which he sold in 1969 for £450,000. Farmer retired to the United States, but became bored and decided to find a new challenge. [ [http://www.rgu.ac.uk/news/disp_NewsPreview.cfm?PGE_ID=32714&vmenu=2 RGU: Kwik-Fit founder shares his knowledge at RGU masterclass ] ] Noticing the standards of customer service in the States, he returned to Edinburgh to found the Kwik Fit chain of garages in 1971. The firm grew quickly, mainly through acquisition, including opening in the Netherlands in 1975. Known to be involved in fitting tyres of customers' cars, Farmer was named Scottish Businessman of the Year in 1989. [ [http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/Regions/Scotland/Articlex/f453fee9f56d4a3294ddf8072a4bdce3/Kwik-Fit-founder-named-Scotland%E2%80%99s-top-businessman.html Kwik Fit founder named Scotland’s top businessman ] ] [ [http://www.entrepreneurial-exchange.co.uk/defaultpage1231cef0.aspx?pageID=728 The Entrepreneurial Exchange ] ] After building the chain to dominate the UK market, Farmer sold the firm to Ford in 1999.

In 2006, he donated £100,000 to the Scottish National Party to help fund their campaign for the 2007 Scottish Parliament general election. [ [http://www.sundayherald.com/58421 "Farmer set to boost SNP coffers with £100,000 donation"] , "Sunday Herald", 2006-10-08] He has however commented since that the donation does not indicate his political allegiance. Fact|date=September 2007

A devout Roman Catholic and philanthropist, he was made a Knight of St. Gregory, the highest honour that the Catholic church can bestow on a layman. He was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1997. He owns Hibernian Football Club in Edinburgh. He saved Hibernian from extinction as it was in a weak financial position at the time of his intervention and was threatened during 1990 by a proposed merger with local rivals Hearts. Farmer stated at the time of the takeover that he had no great love of football (he rarely attends matches), but felt it was important to the local community that Hibs should continue to exist. Farmer has largely delegated control of Hibs to others, particularly Rod Petrie.

Farmer lives in Barnton, Edinburgh, with his wife of 36 years, Anne. They have one daughter, one son and three grandchildren (as of 2006). Farmer also owns the island of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth.

In 2007 after Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh was awarded full university status, he was named as founding Chancellor having been associated with the institution for a number of years.

References

External links

* [http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst595.html "Gazetteer for Scotland: "Biography of Tom Farmer]
* [http://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/medal_recipients/t_farmer "Carnegie UK trust:" Dead link]
* [http://www.entrepreneurialexchange.co.uk/defaultpage1231cef0.aspx?pageID=728 "The Entrepeneurial Exchange:" Info on Sir Tom Farmer CBE]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/317226.stm "BBC News:" “Business: The Company File Farmer reaps Kwik-Fit rewards”]
* [http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/nmCentre/events/carnegie/sir_tom_farmer_biography.htm "The Scottish Parliament:" “Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy 2005”]