Noel Lister (26 December 1927 – 29 January 2015) was the founder of MFI Group which became one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains, and also the founder of UKSA (formerly the UK Sailing Academy), a youth education and maritime training charity based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
Noel Lister initially went into business trading in war surplus goods which he purchased at auction.
[2] He was a keen sailor - he was a contender for the Admiral's Cup in Imp - and in 1987 secured the future of the UK Sailing Academy at Cowes by acquiring it from the Sports Council and transferring it, and a donation of £4 million, into a Trust Fund.
[3][4] At the time he owned the yacht, Whirlwind IX,[5] and his vision was to provide maritime training for good quality people so that they could work on large yachts.
[7] His children included the conservationist and philanthropist Paul Lister.