Noel Lister

Noel Lister (26 December 1927 – 29 January 2015) was the founder of MFI which became one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains, and also the founder of UKSA (formerly the UK Sailing Academy), a youth education and maritime training charity based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Career

Noel Lister initially went into business trading in war surplus goods which he purchased at auction.[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/nov/26/mfi-furniture-high-street-retailers-recession MFI: The flatpack giant that fell flat on its back] The Guardian, 26 November 2008

He co-founded MFI in 1964.{{cite news | last=Ramnarayan | first=Abhinav | title= MFI: The flatpack giant that fell flat on its back | date= 26 November 2008 | url= https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/nov/26/mfi-furniture-high-street-retailers-recession | accessdate= 8 March 2010 | location=London | work=The Guardian}}

He was a keen sailor - he was a contender for the Admiral's Cup in Imp - and in 1987 secured the future of the UK Sailing Academy at Cowes by acquiring it from the Sports Council and transferring it, and a donation of £4 million, into a Trust Fund.[https://uksa.org/youth-development/funding-opportunities/noel-lister-memorial-fund/ UK Sailing Academy][http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/ScannedAccounts/Ends30%5C0000288730_ac_20070405_e_c.pdf Charity Commission] At the time he owned the yacht, Whirlwind IX,[http://careerarticles.uksa.org/2008/07/careers-in-superyachting.html Careers in superyachting] and his vision was to provide maritime training for good quality people so that they could work on large yachts.[https://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/aug/14/highereducation.choosingadegree Yachting's new wave] Guardian, 14 August 2007

He died on 29 January 2015.[https://archive.today/20200225233215/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article4350226.ece Noel Lister]

His children included the conservationist and philanthropist Paul Lister.{{cite news | last=Turpin | first=Adrian | title= Beware of the wolfman | date= 25 June 2006 | url= https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/beware-of-the-wolfman-6097193 | accessdate= 11 September 2024 | location=London | work=Independent}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20110612152741/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_2009/article6147366.ece Sunday Times Rich List 2009]

Category:1927 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:20th-century English businesspeople