- Steve Morgan (businessman)
Steve Morgan OBE (born
25 November 1952 inLiverpool ) is an English businessman.Business career
Steve Morgan is the founder and former Chairman of
Redrow plc, which he started in 1974 at the age of 21 with the aid of a £5,000 loan from his fatherhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3706499.stm] . Under his leadership Redrow became one of the UK's most successful home builders. Redrow was floated on theLondon Stock Exchange in 1994, ultimately becoming a FSTE 250 Company. In November 2000, after 26 years, Morgan stepped down as Chairman, although his company, Bridgemere, remains one of the largest shareholders.In the 1990s, Morgan invested in hotels, developing St David’s Park Hotel in North Wales and Carden Park in Cheshire, eventually merging his interests into
The De Vere Hotel Group . When AHG took over De Vere in 2006, he took the opportunity to buy back Carden Park, which is acknowledged to be one of the most successful golfing and spa resorts in the UKFact|date=August 2008.Morgan’s main business is now the Bridgemere Group of Companies, a property development and investment company based in Guernsey.
In 1992 Morgan was awarded the
OBE for his services to the construction industry [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/wolves-are-handed-over-to-morgan-for-a-tenner-449828.html] . He is a Fellow of the Institute of Builders and holds three Honorary Fellowships at Liverpool John Moores UniversityFact|date=August 2008, Glyndwr UniversityFact|date=August 2008 and Cardiff University [http://caerdydd.ac.uk/about/fellows/index.html] .Wolverhampton Wanderers
A fanatical football fan, Morgan was a life-long Liverpool supporter. However an opportunity came up in 2007 to purchase Wolverhampton Wanderers, a club which he had previously regarded as his “second club”http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/wolves-fc-news/2007/08/10/morgan-takes-wolves-into-a-new-era-97319-19605510/] . 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 [cite web
title =Tycoon Morgan in Wolves takeover
publisher =BBC News Online
date =2007-05-21
url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6676953.stm
accessdate = 2007-05-21 ] . The takeover was formally completed on9 August 2007 when Morgan became Chairman of the club [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/6937817.stm] . On handover, Sir Jack Hayward stated that Morgan “had had a heart transplant – from Liverpool to Wolverhampton,” to which Morgan responded, “heart, body and soul".Philanthropy
In 2000 Morgan established The Morgan Foundation, which supports charities working with children and families across North Wales, Merseyside, West Cheshire and North Shropshire.
The Morgan Foundation has supported over 100 charities to date and gives between £1.25 and £1.5 million per annum to needy causes.Fact|date=August 2008
In 2007 the Foundation launched The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards to encourage entrepreneurship in the Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Shropshire and Wolverhampton areas.
After Morgan purchased Wolves the Morgan Foundation committed £150K per annum to Wolves Aid. This funding, together with the considerable charity work carried out in the city by Wolves in the Community, makes Wolves Aid “the biggest charity of its type in football”, according to the Football League Trust.Fact|date=August 2008
Family
Morgan has five children and lives in Cheshire with his wife and two youngest children.
References
External links
* [http://www.bridgemere-group.co.uk/ Bridgemere corporate website]
* [http://www.morganfoundation.co.uk/index.asp Morgan Foundation]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3706499.stm BBC profile article, 13 May 2004]
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