Owen Oyston - Current Career

Current Career

Following his release, Oyston continued to operate his various businesses. He returned to estate agencies and to glossy magazines. He relaunched the Oyston's estate agency and revived two previously low-profile Ridings Publications titles, The Lancashire Magazine and The Yorkshire Magazine, with managers and journalists who previously worked with him on the "Life" series of county magazines. He remains the majority shareholder at Blackpool F.C., and is still listed as a director. He made his first public appearance at Bloomfield Road since his release, in February 2002 at the opening of two new stands at the stadium. He was also instrumental in the club bringing in Latvian businessman Valeri Belokon to invest into the club in 2006. In January 2007 Blackpool confirmed that Oyston would be overseeing their Gold Bond Lottery scheme in an advisory role, a scheme which he had originally helped to create.

Oyston was the subject of controversy again in 2007, when he was invited to a Labour Party fundraising event held by newly-appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 12 July. A spokesman for Brown said, "Mr Brown did not meet Mr Oyston, nor was he aware of his presence in advance. Mr Brown has asked the general secretary of the Labour Party to investigate the circumstances, but he has already instructed him that any donation from Mr Oyston should not be accepted."

The Sunday Times Rich List, which annually lists the 2,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom has Oyston's wealth along with his son Karl at £105M making them the 759th richest in the country, down from 659th in 2007.