Stephen Vaughan Sr.

Stephen Vaughan

Stephen Vaughan (b. c. 1962 ) is an English businessman and crook 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. His periods as chairman of the two clubs saw both succeed on the pitch, but both ended due to Vaughan's involvement in criminal investigations

Biography

Vaughan was an amateur boxer as a youth, and formed Vaughan Promotions in 1990 to promote boxing matches in the UK. His company purchased Barrow AFC in 1995, and Vaughan invested heavily in the club, bringing the Unibond Premier League title to the team in the 1997-1998 season. However, during the season Vaughan had resigned as chairman due to a money laundering investigation by HM Customs and Excise. Vaughan's links to gangster Curtis Warren also became apparent; later in Warren's biography, an incident is reported in which Warren flew over Barrow AFC's Holker Street ground and commented "I own that". Nothing came of Customs and Excise's investigation, and Vaughan reinstated himself as chairman.

However, Vaughan had been using his own money to fund the club; when he left Barrow permanently in November 1998, his departure resulted in the club having a £200 000 financial short fall. Furthermore, it transpired that Vaughan had transferred Holker Street to his company, Vaughan Promotions, in return for his investment. Barrow were subsequently placed into liquidation and removed from the Football Conference. A lengthy dispute over the ownership of Holker Street followed, whilst Barrow were readmitted to the Unibond Premier League in September 1999. Vaughan remained a share-owner in the liquidated company, but day-to-day running of the club had been taken over by the newly formed Barrow AFC (1999). Eventually, it was found that the club legally owned the ground, not Vaughan, and Barrow was able to sell the asset to pay many of the club's debts.

Vaughan was linked with attempts to buy a number of clubs, and finally took over at Chester City in 2001. Soon, however, Chester were drawn to play Barrow AFC in the FA Cup. Under FA rules, Vaughan could not own shares in both teams and a few days prior to the match, he transferred his Barrow AFC shares to a local painter and decorator for a nominal sum. After the game, the shares were transferred back. A few days later, new Barrow chairman Brian Keen completed the purchase of Vaughan's shares.

At Chester, Vaughan again invested heavily and brought success. He improved the club's Deva Stadium and took them to victory in the Football Conference in 2004. During this period, Vaughan also purchased shares in and became chairman of Widnes Vikings rugby league club, and attempted to introduce a ground sharing scheme between Chester and Tranmere Rovers. In recent times the club has suffered heavily under Vaughan and was relegated from the Football League at the end of the 2008/2009 season. The club received a 25 point penalty at the start of the 2009/2010 season as a result of administration and financial irregularities.