Events

In 1964 Sir Tom Farmer founded his tyre retailing business in Leith which he sold in 1969 for £450,000. Sir Tom '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 supported by a famous advertising campaign focusing on the ‘Kwik Fit Fitter’. 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, Sir Tom 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. This event is targeted at growth focused business owners /Directors and is a rare opportunity to hear one of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs share his story and offer a unique insight into the latter stages of business growth and exit.

Speakers at this event included:

Sir Tom Farmer (Founder, Kwik Fit)

One of seven siblings from a devout Roman Catholic family, in 1964 Sir Tom founded his own tyre retailing business which he sold in 1969 for £450,000. Farmer 'retired' to the United States, but quickly 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. Known to be involved in fitting tyres of customers' cars, 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 centers 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.