John Batchelor (racing)
Encyclopedia
William John Batchelor more commonly known as John Batchelor, was an English
racing driver
, businessman
, political
activist, and football investor
. He was chairman of York City F.C.
from 2002 to 2003, during which time he was also the owner of York City Racing, a motor racing team competing in the British Touring Car Championship
.
, South Yorkshire
, where he lived for a short period before moving to Surrey
, Kent
and Portugal
due to his father's work. He received four O-Levels at school and had an exchange year in Oregon
, United States, after which he sold insurance door-to-door in East Lancashire
. He worked in this for nine months before selling cleaning products for five years, when he started "System Hygiene", a janitorial supplies company based in Accrington
. He married
Gillian in 1981 and the couple have had four children. He stood as a Common Sense Sick of Politicians candidate for Blackburn
in the 1997 general election
, coming in last place after winning 0.8% of the share with 362 votes. Following the election, through an open letter
, he said "I extend my gratitude to the 362 voters in Blackburn who backed my campaign to take politics out of government. I would also like to point out that an additional 30,000 voters also offered me their support by being so sick of politicians that they abstained from voting at all. If we now add this figure to my votes and then subtract the votes of the 'winning' candidate it shows a 5,000-vote majority for those who are sick of politicians." "System Hygiene" was sold by Batchelor to business partner Robin Huddleston for what was described then as a "single digit millions of pounds" in 1999.
in 1999 after being backed by Blackburn Rovers
and their sponsors, which helped him gain enough money to build a 220bhp Ford Fiesta
and entered the Super Road Saloons Championship. He won the title in his first season and moved into the Ford Fiesta Zetec Championship the year after and secured a sponsorship deal with BBC
programme Top Gear, which saw him change his name to John Top-Gear through deed poll
. He entered the British Touring Car Championship
in 2001 and after asking over 800 companies for financial support he persuaded B&Q
, the DIY megastore, to join him before the start of the season and also changed his name to John B&Q to help him gain funding. He stood as an independent candidate
for Tatton
in the 2001 general election
, which saw him win 0.8% of the electorate with 322 votes. He injured his third, fourth, and fifth vertical vertebrae [sic] in a race at Oulton Park
in Cheshire
, which almost forced him to retire. Batchelor secured a £1 million deal for his racing team to be sponsored by battery
company VARTA
in 2003.
on 15 March 2002 after buying the club from Douglas Craig
; he was reported to have paid £4.5 million for the club, although it was later revealed he bought it for £1. After taking over the club, he said he had two sites in mind for a new 15,000-seated ground. He revealed an interest in buying ITV Digital
in May, which he later admitted was unlikely to succeed. He changed the club's name from York City Football Club to York City Soccer Club, in an attempt to appeal to United States markets. Also, Batchelor's racing brand was incorporated into other parts of the club; the official badge had a chequered flag brought into it, as did the first team kit, which had a racing style print on one sleeve. He promised to buy York's Bootham Crescent ground, give the Supporters Trust
24% of the club's shares and invite two supporters onto the board, but none of these were fulfilled. It was reported that Batchelor received some death threat
s in regards to way he was handling the club. York went into administration
on 18 December and he tried to purchase the club, but the Supporters Trust eventually bought the club on 26 March 2003. Following his time at York, Batchelor said "I did nothing wrong" and "I tried hard to make it work as a business". He was later investigated by the Department of Trade and Industry after pressure from supporters. Batchelor made a profit of over £300,000 from his association with York and while the club was enduring financial difficulties he bought a house for £250,000.
Batchelor spent a month in hospital in late 2006 for alcoholism
. He was a part of James Derry's bid to buy Mansfield Town
in March 2008, but eventually launched his own bid to buy the club. He revealed plans to rename the club "Harchester United
", after the fictional team in the Sky
series Dream Team
. This was called "absolutely bizarre" by Mansfield
mayor Tony Egginton
, who was later appointed as the club's non-executive chairman, which put doubt on Batchelor's takeover bid. He was later revealed to have had a £1.5 million bid for Accrington Stanley
turned down by chairman Eric Whalley, which proposed moving a newly formed "Lancashire United" to Leigh
and building a 10,000 seater stadium. He held talks with Chester City
chairman Stephen Vaughan
about purchasing the club in November. Batchelor fronted a consortium that made a £12.5 million bid to buy Southampton
in July 2009. He was disqualified from acting as a company director for seven years from 2010 after he allowed two of his companies, Moornate Chemists Limited and The Besglos Polish Company Limited, to enter transactions to the benefit of connected companies and himself and to the detriment of their creditors.
He was a Burnley
supporter and a season ticket
holder at Turf Moor
.
, Stockport
, Greater Manchester
at the age of 51 after suffering from liver disease
caused by alcoholism.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
racing driver
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, businessman
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
, political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
activist, and football investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
. He was chairman of York City F.C.
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
from 2002 to 2003, during which time he was also the owner of York City Racing, a motor racing team competing in the British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
.
Early life
Batchelor was born in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, where he lived for a short period before moving to Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
due to his father's work. He received four O-Levels at school and had an exchange year in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States, after which he sold insurance door-to-door in East Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. He worked in this for nine months before selling cleaning products for five years, when he started "System Hygiene", a janitorial supplies company based in Accrington
Accrington
Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
. He married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
Gillian in 1981 and the couple have had four children. He stood as a Common Sense Sick of Politicians candidate for Blackburn
Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackburn is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.-Boundaries:The constituency...
in the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, coming in last place after winning 0.8% of the share with 362 votes. Following the election, through an open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
, he said "I extend my gratitude to the 362 voters in Blackburn who backed my campaign to take politics out of government. I would also like to point out that an additional 30,000 voters also offered me their support by being so sick of politicians that they abstained from voting at all. If we now add this figure to my votes and then subtract the votes of the 'winning' candidate it shows a 5,000-vote majority for those who are sick of politicians." "System Hygiene" was sold by Batchelor to business partner Robin Huddleston for what was described then as a "single digit millions of pounds" in 1999.
Racing career
He became a racing driverAuto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
in 1999 after being backed by Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
and their sponsors, which helped him gain enough money to build a 220bhp Ford Fiesta
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa...
and entered the Super Road Saloons Championship. He won the title in his first season and moved into the Ford Fiesta Zetec Championship the year after and secured a sponsorship deal with BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
programme Top Gear, which saw him change his name to John Top-Gear through deed poll
Deed poll
A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention...
. He entered the British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
in 2001 and after asking over 800 companies for financial support he persuaded B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
, the DIY megastore, to join him before the start of the season and also changed his name to John B&Q to help him gain funding. He stood as an independent candidate
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
for Tatton
Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....
in the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, which saw him win 0.8% of the electorate with 322 votes. He injured his third, fourth, and fifth vertical vertebrae [sic] in a race at Oulton Park
Oulton Park
Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, which almost forced him to retire. Batchelor secured a £1 million deal for his racing team to be sponsored by battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
company VARTA
VARTA
VARTA AG was a company based in Germany manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial and consumer markets. A sales slogan was "you're smarter to fit Varta!" in the mid 1990s...
in 2003.
Football
Batchelor became the owner and chairman of York CityYork City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
on 15 March 2002 after buying the club from Douglas Craig
Douglas Craig
Douglas Malcolm Craig OBE, JP, BSC, FICE, FI, MUN E, FCI ARB, M CONS E is former chairman of York City. Craig is an engineer and a former local Tory councillor.-Early years:...
; he was reported to have paid £4.5 million for the club, although it was later revealed he bought it for £1. After taking over the club, he said he had two sites in mind for a new 15,000-seated ground. He revealed an interest in buying ITV Digital
ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster, which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network as ONdigital in 1998 and briefly re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001, before the service ceased in May 2002. Its main shareholders...
in May, which he later admitted was unlikely to succeed. He changed the club's name from York City Football Club to York City Soccer Club, in an attempt to appeal to United States markets. Also, Batchelor's racing brand was incorporated into other parts of the club; the official badge had a chequered flag brought into it, as did the first team kit, which had a racing style print on one sleeve. He promised to buy York's Bootham Crescent ground, give the Supporters Trust
Supporters' trust
In British sports, a supporters' trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen the influence of supporters over the running of the club they support...
24% of the club's shares and invite two supporters onto the board, but none of these were fulfilled. It was reported that Batchelor received some death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s in regards to way he was handling the club. York went into administration
Administration (British football)
Sports clubs in the United Kingdom, most often in football, sometimes choose to enter administration when they are unable to pay off outstanding debts. Under the Insolvency Act 1986 a business will face a winding up order bringing them to court and if it is shown that a business cannot pay debts as...
on 18 December and he tried to purchase the club, but the Supporters Trust eventually bought the club on 26 March 2003. Following his time at York, Batchelor said "I did nothing wrong" and "I tried hard to make it work as a business". He was later investigated by the Department of Trade and Industry after pressure from supporters. Batchelor made a profit of over £300,000 from his association with York and while the club was enduring financial difficulties he bought a house for £250,000.
Batchelor spent a month in hospital in late 2006 for alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. He was a part of James Derry's bid to buy Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
in March 2008, but eventually launched his own bid to buy the club. He revealed plans to rename the club "Harchester United
Harchester United F.C.
Harchester United Football Club was a fictional Premier League football club from the Midlands, featured in the television series Dream Team...
", after the fictional team in the Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
series Dream Team
Dream Team (TV series)
Dream Team is a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky1 and Sky3 from 1997 to 2007; it chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United Football Club....
. This was called "absolutely bizarre" by Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
mayor Tony Egginton
Tony Egginton
Tony Egginton is the directly elected mayor of the Mansfield district in Nottinghamshire, England. He was elected to the position on 17 October 2002. He was re-elected in 2007 and again 2011.He had previously been a newsagent....
, who was later appointed as the club's non-executive chairman, which put doubt on Batchelor's takeover bid. He was later revealed to have had a £1.5 million bid for Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley F.C.
Accrington Stanley is an English association football club from Accrington in Lancashire, in the North West of England, who play in Football League Two, the fourth-highest division in the English football league system....
turned down by chairman Eric Whalley, which proposed moving a newly formed "Lancashire United" to Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
and building a 10,000 seater stadium. He held talks with Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
chairman Stephen Vaughan
Stephen Vaughan, Sr
Stephen Vaughan is an English businessman from Liverpool. As owner of Vaughan Promotions, originally a boxing promotion and management company, he has owned Barrow A.F.C. and Chester City football clubs, and has served as chairman of both...
about purchasing the club in November. Batchelor fronted a consortium that made a £12.5 million bid to buy Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in July 2009. He was disqualified from acting as a company director for seven years from 2010 after he allowed two of his companies, Moornate Chemists Limited and The Besglos Polish Company Limited, to enter transactions to the benefit of connected companies and himself and to the detriment of their creditors.
He was a Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
supporter and a season ticket
Season ticket
A season ticket is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time.-Sport:In sport, a season ticket grants the holder access to all regular-season home games for one season without additional charges. The ticket usually offers a discounted price over purchasing a ticket for each of...
holder at Turf Moor
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
.
Death
Batchelor died on 11 April 2010 in Stepping Hill HospitalStepping Hill Hospital
Stepping Hill Hospital in a hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.Stepping Hill Hospital is Stockport NHS Foundation Trust's main hospital, which looks after a population of approximately 350,000 people. Dr C. F. Burke is the Trust's Chief Executive while...
, Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
at the age of 51 after suffering from liver disease
Liver disease
Liver disease is a broad term describing any single number of diseases affecting the liver.-Diseases:* Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, caused mainly by various viruses but also by some poisons , autoimmunity or hereditary conditions...
caused by alcoholism.