Blackpool FC owner Simon Sadler gives university £1.5m to fund new bursary for students leaving care

Seasiders owner and University of Manchester alumnus Simon Sadler gave the university £1.5m to fund a new bursary for students leaving care.

Simon grew up in Blackpool and was the first in his family to attend university.

He is currently Chief Investment Officer of Segantii Capital Management, which he founded in 2007.

He is also the owner and chairman of his hometown football club, having purchased a 96% stake in Blackpool FC in 2019.

The town contains eight of England's ten most deprived wards, and its share of children in local authority care is the highest in the country.

Over the next three years, the Sadler Bursary will provide an annual grant of £10,000 for 36 undergraduate care-leaver students, with particular priority being given to students from the North West of England – including Blackpool.

Simon said: "It is a true privilege to have these new bursaries named after me, which will give a helping hand to young people who have had particularly complicated starts to their lives.

"I also hope it inspires young people who may not have previously considered attending University to follow their dreams."

The bursary will offer students security for the duration of their degree, providing them with support to secure accommodation and enabling them to focus on their studies without any financial stresses.

The £1.5m gift also includes new support for students from low-income households.

"Manchester is one of the top Higher Education institutions in the country, and studying there was a transformative journey which provided me with a valuable and positive investment in my future," Simon added.

"I hope that the bursary recipients have the same experience, and they go on to have long, successful careers in their chosen fields."

Simon and his wife Gillian are also supporting Cancer Research UK’s More Research, Less Cancer campaign with a gift to the CRUK National Cancer Biomarker Centre in Manchester.

The Biomarker Centre is housed in the CRUK Manchester Institute, a partnership between The University of Manchester, CRUK and the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: "I would personally like to thank Simon for this generous, life-changing programme of support for students leaving care, which will play a pivotal role in our mission to create a more inclusive and accessible academic environment.

"We are committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds are able to fulfil their potential and succeed here at our University, and this new bursary is another tool in our arsenal to enable that to happen."