Roger Michael De Haan | |
---|---|
Born | Roger Michael De Haan 1948 Northampton[1] |
Education |
Westbrook House Preparatory School for Boys and Girls[2] Seaford College (Independent school)[3] |
Occupation | Businessman |
Known for | Saga, FOLKESTONE |
Home town | Folkestone |
Spouse |
1. Susan Bridget Chambers (m. 1969)[4] 2. Marie-Lyvie M Goder (m.1988)[5] |
Children |
First marriage: Rachel De Haan (b.1972) Joshua De Haan (1974) Benjamin de Haan (1976) Second marriage: Rebecca De Haan (1989) Naomi De Haan (1990) Eve De Haan (1992) Jacob De Haan (1994) Samuel De Haan (1996) |
Parents | Sidney De Haan and Margery Crick |
Awards | CBE |
Roger Michael De Haan CBE, DL was born in 1948 in Northampton[6] and is the son of the late Sidney De Haan, who created the Saga group of companies, mostly famous for selling holidays to the over 50s market. Roger took over Saga in 1984 when his father retired and then ran the company with his brother for a further twenty years, launching Saga-branded radio stations to accompany the group’s holidays and financial services. He choose to leave the business in 2004, selling the entire Saga Group (which included insurance and holiday businesses) to a management buyout for £1.35 billion, although he continued to run some of the radio stations himself. In that year he bought Folkestone Harbour for £11 million.
He also established The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust in 1978, which offers financial support to a variety of charities and community organisations.
In 2003/2004 he awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Canterbury Christ Church University.[7]
Roger De Haan received the CBE for services to business, education and charity in 2004 and regularly appears in the Sunday Times' 'rich list'. He closed down PrimeTime Radio and Saga Radio (Digital), his two DAB radio stations, in 2006.