The death of Forest owner Nigel Doughty on Saturday shocked not only the world of football but also those of business and politics. Dominic Howell reports...

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FROM prime ministers to charities, from Forest fans to business students, Nigel Doughty had an impact on all of those whose lives he touched.

And following the shock news of his death on Saturday, those groups have come together to pay tribute to the man who contributed so much in his 54 years.

At the City Ground yesterday, fans trudged through the snow to pay tribute to the man who saved the club from administration in 1999, and went on to invest £75 million in the club he supported as a child.

One tribute on a bunch of flowers said, "Our latter day Robin Hood", while another read, "Thank you for everything. RIP True Red."

Mr Doughty's history with the club began when he started supporting the club while growing up on a Newark housing estate.

He attended Newark Magnus School. Tony Roberts, his former English teacher at the school, said: "Everything that can be said about Nigel, can be summed up in a few words – he was just very nice.

"He was very pleasant, very cooperative. He was a very ordinary student, no one could have known the heights he would hit.

Mr Roberts, who taught at the school for 38 years and is now the leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, added: "The nice thing was that he made use of his success, he didn't clutch it to himself, he did some good with it and will be remembered for his tremendous generosity."

In 1984 he founded private equity firm Doughty Hanson with business partner Dick Hanson. The company specialises in buying or taking a stake in companies, turning them round and selling them on for a profit, and today has offices in London, New York, Paris, Luxembourg, Munich, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Milan and Prague.

The company issued a statement which said: "On behalf of Dick Hanson, and all the management and staff of Doughty Hanson, we are tremendously sorry to learn of the death of Nigel Doughty. Our thoughts are very much with his family at this time."

The success of his firm enabled Doughty to save Forest from financial despair when he bought the club for £11m in 1999. He became chairman two years later.

In October last year, immediately after the sacking of Steve McClaren as manager, Mr Doughty announced his intention to resign as chairman, although he stayed on as owner. He was replaced as chairman by former Forest player and manager Frank Clark.

Over the last seven years Mr Doughty gave at least £3.5m to the Labour Party. He was on the board of assistant treasurers of the party, and also led a Small Business Taskforce, which made recommendations to Labour late last year which are to be considered as part of the party's policy-making process.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown said: "Nigel Doughty will be remembered as a gentle giant, a good soft-spoken man with a deep commitment to public service who, from his great success in business, became one of our country's most generous benefactors.

"For all his life he was loyal to all the causes that he had grown up with – his love for his team Nottingham Forest, the Labour Party, of which he was a life long supporter, and charitable causes that benefited from his generosity.

"I know him as a family friend and someone who supported the Labour Party and its leadership through thick and thin. My thoughts are with his widow Lucy and his whole family whom he loved so much."

However it wasn't just Forest and Labour that Mr Doughty supported.

In May last year, the Sunday Times rich list for 2011 – which estimated his fortune as £130m – said he had donated £3.8m to beneficiaries such as the medical profession, children's charities, education, and sports during a single year.

He gave more than £1m pounds to the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and helped more than 3,000 patients by giving a further £1m to create an endoscopy centre and pre-operative assessment centre at Newark Hospital in memory of his mother, Mercia Doughty, who used to work there.

During his decade as chairman he ploughed £75m of loans into Forest, but his death has already led some fans to ask questions about the financial future of the club.

Fan of more than 20 years, Ryan Brice, 33, of the Lace Market said: "There is a big question mark hanging over the club. There is a debt with the club which now presumably belongs to his estate."

And life-long supporter Richard Crouch, 28, of West Bridgford, said: "Nobody is sure what will now happen."

Mr Doughty, who was married with four children, was found dead in the gym of his home in Skillington, Lincolnshire, on Saturday.

Police, who were called at 2.15pm, say there were no suspicious circumstances.

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