Fond farewell to the father of modern Hibs

WITH the recent passing of Sir Tom Farmer (above) at the age of 84, the world has lost a great man, Britain has lost one of its greatest captains of industry, Scotland has lost a true visionary and Edinburgh and Leith has lost one of its finest sons. Moreover, humanity has lost a kind, compassionate human being.

Most people are familiar with Tom’s gargantuan success with his Kwik-Fit chain from 1971 until the turn of the century—who can forget those adverts with the dancing car mechanics? Kwik-Fit itself became and remains a national icon, a brand instantly recognisable as McDonalds or British Gas. Sir Tom sold that business and its related insurance service to automotive giant Ford in 1999 for almost a billion pounds.

Thereafter, Sir Tom started another successful tyre business, Farmer Autocare, and remained a leading light in Britain’s business community. He even turned his hand to motivational after dinner speaking, as well as quietly but earnestly doing vast amounts of good for society via his numerous charitable and philanthropic projects—many of which were kept out of the public eye simply because Sir Tom didn’t want or need acclamation for his myriad good deeds. These good deeds ranged from large initiatives to local philanthropy. For instance, the chapel in St John’s Hospital in Livingston, which had provided comfort to thousands of people over the years in their hour of need, was paid for by Sir Tom Farmer, out of his own pocket.

In his life, Sir Tom’s favourite memory was the day that he met his wife, Anne, who herself passed away a year ago. Tom met Queens, Prime Ministers, Popes and Presidents in his lifetime. He even let your humble correspondent interview him a few times, thanks, in part, to the fact that my mum, Bette, knew Tom through the Catholic Church and through working for one of his charities.

Sir Tom gave so much to the world, to Britain, to Scotland and to Edinburgh, his loss saddens us all, but his time on this earth made the world a better place—that’s what we celebrate.

Hibs’ saviour

To a certain demographic in Scotland and beyond, Tom Farmer is also the father of modern Hibernian FC, having stepped into to save the club from extinction 1990/91, just as his grandfather and uncle had done back in 1889.

Back in 1990, Tom Farmer CBE (as was) blocked the hostile takeover of Hibs initiated by Hearts supremo, Wallace Mercer—a takeover bid sparked by revelations that Hibernian’s owners at that time, a PLC owned by David Duff and Jim Gray, had left the club drowning in £6 million of debt linked to foolish property investments in England. Tom Farmer stopped that hostile takeover. Then in 1991, he again rode to Hibs’ rescue as the club entered administration, not only staving off the threat of liquidation for the football club, but galvanising the club to win its first trophy in almost 20 years that October, as the Hibees won the League Cup.

Of course, most fans know that Tom Farmer saved Hibs back then, but so much more would be achieved in the following 28 years under his ownership than mere survival. The 1991-2019 era of a Farmer-owned Hibs was the most successful period in the club’s proud history. Three major trophies were won, including the holy grail that was the 2016 Scottish Cup. When Sir Tom first came to Hibernian, the club had no money, the team was rubbish, the stadium was an outdated , if charming, dump, unfit for the 21st century and the commercial side of Hibs was miniscule.

Asides the cup winning seasons of 1991, 2007 and 2016, Hibs under Tom Farmer’s watch had some truly memorable campaigns. The club split the Old Firm and finished third in the league in season 94/95. Season 2000/01 brought a third place finish and a Scottish Cup Final. Third place was again achieved in 2004/05 under manager Tony Mowbray, and no Hibs fan will ever forget season 2017-18 under Neil Lennon, when the Hibees crowned their return to top flight football with a fourth-place finish—gaining more points and scoring more goals than the other Hibs teams that finished third—and having a rollercoaster season enjoying multiple victories over Hearts, Rangers and Celtic.

There were two relegations during the Farmer era at Hibs, in 1998 and in 2014, but both times the Hibees rose like a phoenix from the ashes and came back far stronger.

Strong leadership

Under Sir Tom’s ownership Hibs also faced and overcame numerous off-field challenges, too. The 1994 legal requirement for stadiums to become all-seater, the 1995 Bosman ruling and its overturning of football finance forever, the collapse of Scottish football’s TV deal in 2002, the 2008/09 global financial crash and half a dozen other external shocks were all weathered well by the Easter Road side. Having an owner like Sir Tom was an immeasurable boon to Hibs. For example, in 2009 as the world went into financial meltdown, Hibs bucked the trends of other clubs at that time, spending big to buy Anthony Stokes from Sunderland and buying steel with which to build Easter Road’s new East Stand, all while other clubs pinched the pennies—without Tom Farmer, that would’ve been impossible.

As I noted in my 2021 book, there was yet another benefit to Hibs over the years of having an owner like Sir Tom Farmer. Since 1991, Scottish football clubs have fallen like dominos. Rangers, Clydebank, Airdrieonians and Gretna have all been liquidated. Scores of other clubs have been forced to move stadiums or have faced administration—some multiple times—often with fans having to face the humiliating necessity of running bake sales or resorting to crowdfunding to keep their club alive, whilst their clubs’ often shady owners waltzed away into the distance without losing a penny themselves. Hibs fans have been spared that completely. They remain at Easter Road, and always have a team to watch, and that’s because they were owned by Sir Tom Farmer.

Sir Tom was open about the fact that he had preferred swimming to football in his youth, yet his sense of community and of heritage ironically made him Hibernian FC’s biggest supporter, in many ways. Without him, there’d be no Hibs and the green and white legions are forever grateful.

When Tom Farmer came to Hibernian in 1991, our beautiful club was sick, ailed by many problems. By the time Tom sold up in 2019, we’d won three major trophies, had a superb modern stadium, operated a wonderful training facility and had become a thriving success story commercially too.

Rest in peace, Sir Tom Farmer, the Hibernian family mourns your loss and celebrates your life. You were many great things in life, but to us, the Hibbies, you are simply the father of modern Hibs—that’s the greatest accolade in the universe. Thank you, thank you.