ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT....

Frank Rothwell is an English businessman and the new owner of football team, Oldham Athletic. Rothwell bought the club in July 2022.

In February 2021, at age 70, he became the oldest person to complete the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, a solo sail across the Atlantic ocean. At the age of 73, he undertook a second journey, finishing that in February 2024. He raised £1.1 million on his first trip and £253,000 on his second trip, also setting a new world record as the oldest person to row solo across any ocean. The eldest of five children, he left school at 15 with a 25 yard swimming certificate, his only qualification.

His first job was as an apprentice at a farm tractor factory at 19. He earned City and Guilds in Mechanical Engineering and worked as a bulldozer mechanic on ther M62 construction. From there he went to Zambia working as a mechanic in the copper mines and then as a foreman in the Dubai Dry Dock project. 

He set up various businesses in Manchester in 1979 from his home Royton. 

His company is the leader in Bunkabins, portable sleeping accommodation with facilities. He retired last year and handed over the business to his son and daughter in the Oldham factory. The company now employs over 50 people with an annual turnover of around £20m.

Having just built his first Land Rover powered by steam and coal and rowed across the Atlantic! Supporting many local charities, he has donated £30,000 to Action Together in Oldham recovering from the pandemic. 

Council leader, Arooj Shah, announced that Frank would become the first "Ambassador for Business" and was awarded the Freeman of the Borough in 2021, for his contributions to Oldham. Typically he showed modest pride in his achievements.