Ian Lenagan (born 1946, Scholes,
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
) is a business entrepreneur. He was the chairman of
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...
from 2006 to 2023.
Early life
Born in Scholes, Wigan, Lenagan attended St Patrick's Primary School as a child and gained an appreciation for
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
, playing for the local amateur club also named St Patrick's.
He was educated at West Park Grammar School in St Helens before eventually moving onto university. Lenagan attended both
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
universities and graduated with a
BSc in
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and a
MSc in
Magnetohydrodynamics
In physics and engineering, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD; also called magneto-fluid dynamics or hydromagnetics) is a model of electrically conducting fluids that treats all interpenetrating particle species together as a single Continuum ...
respectively.
[ ]
Career
Workplace Systems
In 1985 Lenagan set up his own business, Workplace Systems, in
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
, to develop and supply
software
Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications.
The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
products for workforce management. Following a contract with
Asda
Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...
, the business became expanded across Europe, Australasia, the US and the Middle East. Major retailers known to use Workplace Systems include
Argos,
Focus
Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film
*Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel
*Focus (2015 ...
, Sports Café,
Next
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...
and
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
. With the success of Workplace Systems, the company was floated on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
in 2000 under the name Telework Systems PLC to incorporate another company founded by Lenagan in 1981, TeleWare, which focused on the telephony software products market.
A decline in the telephone market saw TeleWare sold off to its management in 2003 and the company change its name to WorkPlace Systems International plc, 49% owned by Ian Lenagan.
In December 2011, Workplace Systems was acquired by a Lloyds Banking Group-backed management buyout, and Lenagan stepped down from his role as chairman, receiving £19m from the buyout.
Theatre producer
Lenagan is also a successful theatre producer, with over 30 productions to his name. His most recent
West End hit is a co-production of ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' starring
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakout role as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopath ...
.
Rugby league and football clubs
Lenagan is a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
fan. In July 2005 he took over as chairman and majority shareholder of
Harlequins RL, buying 65% of the shares and also taking a place on the board of directors. He also became a major shareholder in
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
, who were controlled by long-time friend
Nick Merry. In July 2012 he replaced Kelvin Thomas as chairman of the League Two club. Lenagan sold his interest in Oxford United and left the board in 2016 when he was appointed Chairman of the Football League.
In 2007 it was announced after months of speculation that Lenagan would become the new owner of
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...
rugby league club, his boyhood team. Lenagan bought the club from former
JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...
magnate and
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
chairman
Dave Whelan
David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English businessman and former Association football, footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra F.C., Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is ...
. Lenagan also bought the training facilities at
Edge Hall Road, the former stadium of
Orrell R.U.F.C. as well as a 50-year lease on the
JJB Stadium.
Lenagan's first signings for Wigan were
George Carmont and
Richie Mathers, both from the NRL, and
Karl Pryce, who returned to rugby league from
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
. Lenagan also signed
Cameron Phelps and
Tim Smith during the 2008 season.
Lenagan ran Wigan Warriors as Chairman for 16 years, changing the club from poorly performing to the leading Super League club and winning 16 trophies over that period - Challenge Cups, Champions, League Leaders & World Club Challenge Winners. The squad compiled by Lenagan, Kris Radlinski and Mike Danson went on to win all 4 trophies in 2024 under Head Coach, Matt Peet, and was awarded the BBC SPOTY Team of the Year.
On 15 July 2023, it was announced that Lenegan would be resigning as Wigan chairman in November 2023, after 16 years at the club. Professor Chris Brookes (Warriors' club doctor) would take over as the new chairman, with Mike Danson the club's new owner.
Other businesses
In parallel with his football and rugby league business involvements and through his Lenagan Family business interests, Lenagan retained his creative involvement in the software industry since 2018 through Competence Development Ltd. Competence develop and support standard software products for Learning Management and Workforce Competencies and are successful within the Sports Sector and Education Sector.
To further advance their interests in these sectors, the Lenagan Family acquired the Awarding Organisation, Transcend Awards Ltd in 2022. Transcend are focused on creating Ofqual-regulated awards in the leisure & fitness, coaching, activity leadership and alternative education pathways areas. Lenagan became a non-Executive Director in 2024.
See also
*
List of Super League rugby league club owners
*
List of owners of English football clubs
A list of all owners with a significant interest within English football clubs: including their estimated net worth and sources of wealth.
Premier League
EFL Championship
League One
League Two
}
,
, The Rowlinson Group
, -
, Donc ...
References
External links
Company Profile.WorkPlace Systems plc. Accessed 8 November 2007.
Board of Directors.WorkPlace Systems plc. Accessed 8 November 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenagan, Ian
1946 births
Living people
People from Wigan
Rugby league people in England
Rugby league chairmen and investors
Sports owners
London Broncos
Wigan Warriors
English Football League office holders
Oxford United F.C. chairmen and investors