Eddie Davies: Art lover and philanthropist who oversaw Bolton Wanderers' renaissance

Football club owner worked his way up from working class beginnings in Lancashire and the fortune he built permitted him to indulge his varied cultural and sporting passions

A procession of international stars arrived at the Reebok Stadium thanks to the club's deep-pocketed owner (Getty)

Art, football, philanthropy and family were ruling passions in the life of Eddie Davies. The multimillionaire from a working class background in Lancashire jointly founded and ran a global business, had galleries named after him in London and financed his team’s rise to Premier League success.

Davies, who has died at the age of 72 during a holiday in Portugal, was chairman of Strix Group from 1984 to 2006, having launched the company with fellow Isle of Man resident John Taylor. The company manufactured kettle controls, thermostats and water purification devices, and claimed its products were used more than a billion times per day worldwide.

The fortune Davies amassed bankrolled his desire to share his love of art; he and his wife Sue (nee Crellin) had five galleries named in their honour at the Victoria & Albert museum. Davies also became owner of Bolton Wanderers Football Club, having been a fan since their run to the 1958 FA Cup final – in which they beat Manchester United – and presided over a renaissance at the historic club.

Born in Little Lever, a village two and a half miles from Bolton, Edwin Davies was educated at Farnworth Grammar School before gaining a first class degree in mathematics at Durham University. He also achieved qualifications in mechanical engineering and accountancy before beginning his working life with Avon Rubber. In 1968 he was appointed to a management position with Scapa Group, the paper manufacturer, and at one point during his 16 years with the company, he oversaw its South American operation from Brazil.

In 1984 Davies and Taylor collaborated to form Strix, with the former chairman until 2006. The art enthusiast became a trustee of the V&A with his charitable donations leading to the opening of the Eddie and Susan Davies Galleries, which are home to paintings by Turner, Gainsborough, Tintoretto, Degas, Botticelli and Constable, among many more artists.

Davies promoted art in the sporting arena too. After becoming a director at Bolton in 1999, he became majority shareholder four years later, when he increased his stake in the club from 29.7 per cent to 94.5 per cent. In tandem with future England manager Sam Allardyce, Davies brought a succession of exotic Continental stars to what was then the Reebok Stadium. They included Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro, Nicolas Anelka, Youri Djorkaeff and Nigerian cult hero Jay-Jay Okocha.

Davies’s tenure saw Bolton achieve four consecutive top-eight finishes in the top flight for the first time since the 1920s. Wanderers qualified twice for Europe as well as reaching the League Cup final. By 2013 however, the club were £164m in debt and Davies was owed loans of £151.3m. When he relinquished control in 2016 – to a consortium fronted by ex-player Dean Holdsworth – he wrote off loans of £175m and left £15m in the club.

When named in 501st position in the Sunday Times Rich List for 2006 – with a fortune estimated at more than £60m – Davies described the rankings in a media interview as a “burglar’s charter”, adding: “Where do they get their figures?” The Business School library at the University of Manchester was named after him and he also donated a six-figure sum towards a new coronary care unit at Royal Bolton Hospital, having undergone heart bypass surgery in 1996.

Bolton Wanderers continued to command Davies’s affection as the club’s life president and, by unhappy coincidence, the club came within minutes of entering administration the day he died. Davies’s enthusiasm for a broad sweep of culture endured and he was due to have been guest of honour at the opening of the new Egyptology Gallery at Bolton Museum, which he helped fund.

Davies was awarded the CBE for charitable services in 2011, having received the OBE for services to industry in 2000. He is survived by his wife and their son and daughter.

Edwin Davies, businessman and philanthropist, born 18 June 1946, died 11 September 2018