Sir Jack Petchey (born 19 July 1925) is an English businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

He was born on 19 July 1925 in Plaistow,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. He came from a working-class family and was brought up in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, leaving school aged 13. During the Second World War, he served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Career

Petchey started a car hire and car sales business. From his profits he invested in property and timeshare which grew into a business empire valued over half a billion pounds by 2007. Jack became known as the grandfather of

timeshare A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owner ...

, and amassed his fortune with marketing in UK and abroad. It was the resort in Albufeira, Portugal, where the real timeshare boom took place, right up to late 2000s, when the whole conglomerate of leisure businesses was sold. In 1969, he was involved with property development, becoming one of the most successful businessmen in Britain.Scouting In London Ambassador
Petchey involvement in football first came when he was appointed a director of

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in 1978. He then went on to own

Watford Football Club Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club’s original foundation is 1881, aligned with that of its antecede ...

which he bought from

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

in 1987. He resigned as chairman in March 1994 and sold the club back to the singer.

Philanthropy

The Jack Petchey Foundation's flagship programme is its Achievement Award scheme – a reward and recognition initiative which enables schools and youth organisations to celebrate the achievements of their young people as well as receive additional funding. Almost 2,000 schools, colleges and youth organisations across London and Essex run the scheme, which contributes millions of pounds each year. Among the organisations on the scheme are sports, music and performing arts clubs, uniformed and disability groups, and youth clubs. The foundation also celebrates Adult Leaders who support young people and has funding available for educational visits and for young volunteers to carry out projects both in the UK and abroad. On top of the central grant giving programmes, the Jack Petchey Foundation runs a number of partnership programmes including the Jack Petche
Speak Out Challenge
Step Into Dance
Panathlonthe London Schools Table Tennis Championships
and the Anthony Nola
Register and Be a Lifesaver
programme. The foundation was also the central funding body of th
Petchey Academy
and th
Petchey Centre for Entrepreneurship
The Foundation also has a branch in

Albufeira Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, which does similar work to its British counterpart. Petchey was nominated as a ''Scouting In London Ambassador'' for

the Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was for ...

Region for Greater London at an Adult Appreciation ceremony in 2008. As of May 2017, he is worth an estimated £550 million.

Honours

Petchey was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in 2004 and

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to young people in East London and Essex through the Jack Petchey Foundation. On 27 May 2010, he was given the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

. He has also been made a Honorary

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

in the

Sea Cadet Corps Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

Personal life

Petchey was married twice. He first married Diane Harrison in 1949, they had a son, John, and three daughters, Jackie, Susan and Amanda. In 2016 at the age of 90 he married a second time to Frances Segelman, a sculptor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petchey, Jack 1925 births Living people People from Plaistow, Newham Watford F.C. directors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor West Ham United F.C. directors and chairmen Royal Navy sailors Royal Navy personnel of World War II English philanthropists