Tom Farmer

Vocation

Lifestyle

Notable

Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist. One of seven siblings in a devoutly Catholic family, in 1964 Farmer founded his own tyre retailing business which he sold in 1969 for £450,000. Farmer retired to the United States, but became bored and decided to find a new challenge. 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. Farmer was named Scottish Businessman of the Year in 1989. After building the chain to become the world's largest independent tyre and automotive repair specialists with over 2,000 centres operating in 18 different countries, Farmer sold the firm to Ford in 1999 for more than £1 billion. He is the first Scot to be awarded the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medal for philanthropy. He is a political donor to the Scottish National Party, and is the major shareholder in Hibernian Football Club, which he rescued from Bankruptcy. His support for both these organisations is based on ensuring viability and an alternative choice, rather than a particular personal enthusiasm. He was knighted in 1997 and was the founding Chancellor of Queen Margaret University. Link to Wikipedia