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Noel Lister

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Noel Lister (26 December 1927 – 29 January 2015) was the founder of MFI Group 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

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Noel Lister initially went into business trading in war surplus goods which he purchased at auction.[1]

He co-founded MFI Group in 1964.[2]

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.[3][4] At the time he owned the yacht, Whirlwind IX,[5] and his vision was to provide maritime training for good quality people so that they could work on large yachts.[6]

He died on 29 January 2015.[7]

His children included the conservationist and philanthropist Paul Lister.[8]

References

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  1. ^ MFI: The flatpack giant that fell flat on its back The Guardian, 26 November 2008
  2. ^ Ramnarayan, Abhinav (26 November 2008). "MFI: The flatpack giant that fell flat on its back". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  3. ^ UK Sailing Academy
  4. ^ Charity Commission
  5. ^ Careers in superyachting
  6. ^ Yachting's new wave Guardian, 14 August 2007
  7. ^ Noel Lister
  8. ^ Turpin, Adrian (25 June 2006). "Beware of the wolfman". Independent. London. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
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