David Holmes (businessman)
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David Holmes is a Scottish
businessperson A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
. He is best known as a former chairman and chief executive of Rangers football club.


Career

Holmes was appointed a director of Rangers in November 1985 by the club's then majority shareholder, the Nevada-based businessman Lawrence Marlborough, head of the Lawrence Group of construction companies.Stephen Halliday
Ogilvie relishing his new challenge at Hearts
''The Scotsman'', 26 November 2005
This followed several years of internecine squabbling amongst major Rangers shareholders, including Jack Gillespie, John Paton and Tom Dawson. Marlborough had inherited much of his shareholding from John Lawrence, a former Rangers chairman of many years standing. His reputed objective in the mid-1980s was to reinvigorate Rangers after years of under-performance, prior to eventual sale. To meet this objective, Holmes embarked upon a bold strategy of returning Rangers to the primacy the club had enjoyed throughout most of its history. In doing so, Holmes was able to capitalise on the modernisation of
Ibrox stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s, several years in advance of the upgrading of most comparable British grounds. The ban on English clubs from European competition in the wake of the
Heysel Stadium disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by ...
provided Rangers with a further competitive advantage. Both factors proved critical in enabling
Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
, appointed manager at Holmes's behest in 1986, to attract leading English internationals. The appointment of Souness - at the time one of European football's most celebrated players - was a major coup for Holmes, especially in the context of a Scottish league historically characterised by the exodus of leading players. Souness's appointment saw Rangers secure the league championship in 1986–87 - the first since 1977–78 season. A further championship followed under the Holmes-Souness period in 1988–89. Rising attendances, increased turnover, and a profile heightened by the capture of numerous high-profile English internationalists were widely regarded as evidence of the success of Holmes and Souness in revitalising Rangers. In November 1988, Lawrence Marlborough's shareholding - and, with it, control of the club - was acquired by the Scottish businessman, David Murray. Holmes continued as chairman until 2 June 1989, at which point he was succeeded by Murray. Holmes ceased involvement in Rangers shortly thereafter. He subsequently re-entered football as a major shareholder of
Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...
in 1990, but resigned in 1991. He was also briefly managing director at
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. Holmes's involvement in football came part-way through an established business career, principally in construction. Before his time at Rangers, Holmes was chairman and chief executive of John Lawrence, the largest independent house builder in Scotland. In 2003, Holmes founded Timber Kit and Treatment Warehouse Ltd (subsequently renamed European Timber Systems Ltd), a manufacturer of timber frame housing.European Timber Systems
website, accessed 11 May 2007
In 2005, the company became a member of the Gladedale Holdings Plc group of housebuilding companies, of which Holmes is also a director.The evolution of OSC
, ''
Building Design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complica ...
'' magazine, accessed 11 May 2007


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, David Year of birth missing (living people) Scottish chief executives Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Rangers F.C. chairmen Falkirk F.C. non-playing staff Dundee F.C. non-playing staff Living people 20th-century Scottish businesspeople