Hibs pay tribute as Sir Tom Farmer - who saved the club from brink of extinction - passes aged 84

Hibernian Football Club have paid tribute to one of the most important figures in club history, following the sad passing of Sir Tom Farmer. The former owner, who will be forever remembered as the man who saved Hibs from a fate worse than extinction, died peacefully at his Edinburgh home on Friday, aged 84, his family have confirmed.

Farmer’s involvement with the Easter Road club began in 1990 as, with the Hands Off Hibs campaign organising strong opposition to Wallace Mercer’s plans of a merger with Hearts, the founder of the successful Kwik Fit chain of garages stepped into save his local team from potentially going under. Or being completely subsumed by their most bitter rivals.

In taking over the club and facing down the threat of an ‘Edinburgh United’ wiping out over 100 years of Hibernian history, Farmer could lay claim to being the most significant individual figure in the story of an enormous sporting institution. Not that he would ever put it like that.

Famously disinterested in football, Sir Tom – who received his knighthood for services to the automotive industry in 1997 – saw buying Hibs as a way of giving something back to his own community of Leith. Despite investing £3 million of his own money to see off Mercer and put the club on a sound financial footing, he was forever declaring himself to be anything but a football supporter – and was rarely seen at games.

Behind his public persona, however, Farmer was deeply invested in Hibs. From overseeing the complete transformation of Easter Road into the modern 20,000-seater stadium it is today, replacing the old terracing with impressive stands on all four sides, to always ensuring that the books were balanced – with a little help, on occasion – the man with a 90 per cent holding in the club kept a watchful eye on business through right-hand man Rod Petrie.

When fans complained, as fans sometimes do, about a lack of spending or a player being sold, Petrie would regularly remind them that Farmer had gone above and beyond to plug gaps, cover shortfalls and ensure a healthy balance sheet at a time when rival clubs were going down the drain at an alarming rate. Sir Tom sold his stake in the club to Ron Gordon, whose family still control a majority stake, in 2019.

In a statement issued just a couple of hours before today’s Scottish Premiership contest at Celtic Park, the club said: "Hibernian FC are devastated to hear of the passing of former owner Sir Tom Farmer, aged 84. Thank you for everything, Tom. Rest in peace."

Farmer’s family said: "Sir Tom's long and extensive career touched many aspects of Scottish and UK life. His business career is well documented, as was his commitment to philanthropy, his many public roles and his unwavering support and appreciation for the communities and people that he lived his life within.

"Sir Tom's Roman Catholic faith was present throughout all areas of his life. He attended mass weekly in Edinburgh and enjoyed the friendship and company of many people with the Catholic community both here in Scotland and further afield. Sir Tom will be remembered by many for his deep commitment to his family, his work and his faith and for being at all times a proud Scotsman.”