Sir Tom Farmer, the founder of the Kwik Fit garage chain, was 84 years old.

The Edinburgh-born businessman died peacefully at his city home on Friday, his family said.

He built the company into the world's largest independent tire and car chain and sold it to Ford in 1999 for £1 billion.

Sir Tom has owned a majority stake in Heberian Football Club for 28 years and sold his interest in the club in 2019.

Sir Tom was born in Less in 1940 and first opened his tire business in 1964.

He founded Kwik Fit in 1971 and eventually operated in more than 2,000 locations in 18 countries.

He was knighted in 1997 for his services to the automotive industry and in 2009 he became the commander of the Royal Order of Victoria (CVO) for his charitable work.

A statement from his family said: “Sir Tom’s long and extensive career has touched many aspects of life in Scotland and England.

“His business career is well-documented, his commitment to philanthropy, his many public roles, and a strong support and appreciation for the communities and people he lives in.”

Sir Tom's charitable work led him to award Carnegie the medal, who became the star of the honor St. Gregory the Great, awarded by the Pope in 1997.

His family said: "Sir Tom's Roman Catholic faith exists in all areas of his life. He attends Mass in Edinburgh every week and enjoys a lot of friendship and company with the Catholic community in Scotland and beyond."

They added: “Sir Tom will be remembered by many for his profound commitment to his family, his work and faith and for his pride to be a Scotch.”

A statement by Hibernian on social media platforms X said:

“The Hibernian FC was so disastrously shocked that it was heard of the death of former boss Sir Tom Farmer, 84.

"Thank you for everything, Tom. Rest in peace."

First Minister John Swinney wrote: “It’s a pity to hear the death of Sir Tom Farmer, a brilliant entrepreneur and so generous person, for so many reasons in Scotland.

“I respect his family.”

Sir Tom Farmer was even more famous for his later life as he became known in Hibs, philanthropy and support for young entrepreneurs.

But his business skills did have an impact.

After paying a small sum of money in the 1960s, he moved to the United States, where he absorbed the sales skills he had adapted to the Kwik Fit Chain he found.

He has an innovative, disruptive response to the oily stand-alone repair garage replaced by his company and has adopted a new branding and marketing approach.

What really makes Kwik Fit stand out is customer service and employee training. As a man of faith, Tom Farmer conveys humility and recognizes that everyone is important.

Every employee plays a role in customer service. The purpose is not only to satisfy customers, but also to make them "satisfied".

Relationship sales are a service that makes customers unfavorably aware of the services they need to repair a car, relying on building trust in the brand.

The ad emphasizes this. You are not just buying new tires; you are buying services from skilled employees, and the ad portrays them as being happy to provide services.

This is the standard in customer service. It was Sir Tom Farmer who brought it to Scotland and established it in other countries.

It can be said that online trade sacrifices most of human connections.