Fergus John McCann (born 26 February 1941) is a Scottish–Canadian businessman and entrepreneur.

Biography

McCann's wealth stemmed initially from a golf vacation company, based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and Phoenix. He is best known for his involvement in Celtic F.C., the football club based in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. In 1972, he obtained the satellite television rights to broadcast the Celtic v Internazionale 1971–72 European Cup semi-final in 1972 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. McCann acquired a 51% controlling stake in the Celtic Football and Athletic Company Ltd. in 1994 for £9.5m, after it became clear that the club was facing bankruptcy. Acting as a guarantor for the club's £7 million debt, he injected additional finance, floated the club on the London Stock Exchange as a

public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a limited liability co ...

, Celtic plc, to raise capital from a share issue, and oversaw an extensive redevelopment of Celtic Park. He raised £14m in a share issue, and that contributed to funding the rebuilding work of the team and the stadium. By the end, Celtic had 53,000 season ticket holders. What some perceived as McCann's abrasive manner, coupled with his preoccupation with building a sustainable infrastructure for the club off the field rather than a title-winning one on it, prompted sustained criticism during much of his tenure. Although credited with rescuing the club from imminent bankruptcy, McCann stated at the outset that he would stay for only five years, with the objectives of placing the club on a firmer business footing and returning the league championship to Celtic Park. The latter goal was met, halting Glasgow rivals Rangers in their quest for a record-breaking ten consecutive league titles. In 1999, McCann sold his shares, leaving Irish entrepreneur Dermot Desmond as the largest shareholder, with a 19.8% holding. As his successors, McCann appointed Allan MacDonald as Chief Executive and Frank O'Callaghan as chairman. McCann offered an interest-free payment plan to encourage individuals, rather than financial institutions, to purchase shares. The result was that small shareholders – principally supporters of the club – owned 63% of the stock at the time of McCann's departure. McCann personally profited in a significant way from the sale of the bulk of his shareholding. Since leaving Glasgow in 1999 he has maintained his routine of purchasing four season tickets every year. McCann's role in wrestling control of Celtic from its unpopular long-time owners and averting the apparent threat of bankruptcy, coupled with his subsequent record in developing the club, prompted a reappraisal of his tenure. Some years after leaving Celtic, he came to enjoy popularity among many or most Celtic supporters that was often absent during his time as the club's chairman. McCann returned to North America where he founded LimoLiner, a company running luxury bus services between

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He retired from his role in the company in 2014.

References

External links

Celtic F.C
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Fergus Living people Canadian businesspeople Celtic F.C. directors and chairmen Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland Scottish emigrants to Canada 1942 births People from Croy

Biography

See also

References

External links