George Robert Forbes (9 October 1944 – 12 October 2022) was a Scottish businessman who was the chairman of

Newcastle United Football Club Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

Biography

Forbes grew up on the family farm in

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

. He qualified as a livestock

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

and went from an employee at

Wooler Wooler ( ) is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, near the Cheviot Hills. It is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots". As well as many shops ...

Auction Mart (in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

) to the owner of the business and site, subsequently expanding it across the UK as County Auctions. Forbes eventually sold the livestock auction business to John Swan PLC in 1999. In the 1980s, Forbes was invited to join the board of directors of

Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

as it aimed to appease fan discontent by appointing a number of local businessmen. Forbes was a Newcastle United supporter from his early years and attended games throughout the country from his late teens. He moved from director to vice-chairman and finally chairman at Newcastle in 1990. He chaired the club during the extremely difficult period when the Magpie Group led by Sir John Hall built up a large shareholding in the club and then took control in 1992. Forbes was appointed chairman of British Cereal Exports (BCE) in 2006, a post he held until 2013.BCE Chairman George Forbes looks back at over 12 years in the export industry
", fieldandrurallife.com, 12 November 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2014 Forbes continued to live at the family farm near

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

in Berwickshire. He died on 12 October 2022, at the age of 78.

References

1944 births 2022 deaths English football chairmen and investors Newcastle United F.C. directors and chairmen {{UK-business-bio-1940s-stub