Who is Sir Martin Broughton?

CHELSEA fan Sir Martin Broughton is one of the top bidders with his billionaire consortium for the west London football club.

Find out more about the potential new Chelsea owner who previously owned Liverpool Football Club and British Airways.

Who is Sir Martin Broughton?

Sir Martin Broughton is a 75-year old British businessman.

He was born on April 15, 1947, in London.

Broughton started his career with British American Tobacco (BAT) in 1971, working his way up to become Finance Director in 1988.

In 1993, Broughton was made Deputy Chairman of the company and five years later he was promoted to Chairman and chief executive.

He also included himself in sport business ventures and became independent director of the British Horseracing Board in 1999, before he succeeded Peter Saville in 2004.

That year he also took over British Airways who merged with International Airlines Group (IAG) in 2011.

In 2022, he decided to put his focus mainly on IAG which is part-owned by Qatar Airways.

In 2011, Sir Martin received his knighthood in the New Year Honours for his significant business ventures across the UK.

Broughton is a Chelsea fan, and together with Sebastian Coe, he built-up a billionaire consortium to take over Chelsea FC.

Seven-time Formula One World Champion and Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton alongside 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams joined as bidders for ownership.

What airline does Sir Martin Broughton own?

Broughton is chairman of International Airlines Group.

The group owns Irish, English and Spanish airlines collectively and is a Spanish registered company.

Qatar Airways owns a great chunk of the company which has shares traded on both the London Stock Exchange and the Spanish Stock Exchanges.

IAG owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling.

Broughton previously owned British Airways before more investment came in.

He left the airline to focus mainly on IAG with Keith Williams taking over as chief executive and executive chairman.

Did Sir Martin Broughton own Liverpool?

Although he has been a life-long Chelsea fan, Broughton spent a short spell as Liverpool chairman in 2010.

The ownership lasted from April 10 till October 13 2010.

He was appointed by the Royal Bank of Scotland as owner, after Tom Hicks and George Gillett were looking to sell the club.

This happened after the 2009/10 season saw Liverpool finish seventh and not qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Finding itself in crisis, the team looked to secure a new owner to oversee the transfer of ownership to the Americans.

After Broughton left Liverpool he said: "I am proud to have been chairman during this turbulent time.

"Liverpool FC will always have a special place in my heart as a result of the relationships I have forged over these past months."

On December 1, 2010, New England Sport Ventures' Tom Werner took over as chairman of the club.

As of March 2022, Broughton started leading a billionaire consortium alongside Seb Coe to buy rivals Chelsea.