Former Hibs owner Sir Tom Farmer, has died at the age of 84.
The Edinburgh-born businessman died peacefully at his home in the city on Friday, his family said.
Sir Tom built the Kwik Fit garage chain into the world’s biggest independent tyre and automotive chain, selling it to Ford for £1bn in 1999.
He was born in Leith in 1940 and first opened a tyre business in 1964.
He started Kwik Fit in 1971, eventually operating in more than 2,000 locations in 18 countries.
Sir Tom owned a majority stake in Hibernian FC for more than 20 years taking over following the unsuccessful takeover bid by Hearts’ owner Wallace Mercer.
100 years before that his grandfather John Farmer and his brother Philip Farmer were responsible for saving the club after it ceased to exists following financial problems.
He was not a typical supporters and always insisted that he saved the club for the people of Leith.
Under Sir Tom’s ownership Hibs won the League Cup in 1991, 2007 and the Scottish Cup in 2016.
He sold his interest in the club in 2019.
Worth an estimated £126 million, he was widely praised for his philanthropic work and was the first Scot to be awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy.
In 1990 he was awarded the CBE and in 1993 he was awarded The Knight Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
He was knighted in 1997, the same year he became a Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, an honour bestowed by the Pope.
The club paid tribute on social media. “Hibernian FC are devastated to hear of the passing of former owner Sir Tom Farmer, aged 84.
“Thank you for everything, Tom. Rest in peace.”
Hundreds of other tributes have been posted on social media.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
