Tributes paid on death of Gold Medal founder Ken Townsley

Tributes have been paid following the death on Saturday of Gold Medal founder Ken Townsley, who created a charitable foundation donating more than £100 million to help sick children.

 

The entrepreneur started as a baggage handler at Blackpool Airport before building Gold Medal into one of the UK’s largest independent tour operators at the time he sold it to Thomas Cook.

 

Townsley made £84 million from a two-stage sale to Thomas Cook in 2008 and 2009. Gold Medal Travel Group was then acquired by dnata in 2014.

 

He later improved his wealth with savvy stock-market investments and built a £160 million fortune, according to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2018.

 

Self-made millionaire Townsley went on to establish Kentown Wizard Foundation in 2015, donating more than £100 million to support children and young adults with life-limiting conditions and disabilities. 

 

Born in Blackpool in 1945 to working class parents, Townsley’s life-long love affair with the travel industry started in the early 1960s at Blackpool Airport where he worked as a passenger handling apprentice. 

 

He moved onto British Eagle Airways until it closed and he was made redundant in 1968. 

 

Townsley used his redundancy money to set up Trident Travel, later renamed Gold Medal Travel, in Blackpool.

 

By 1999, it employed more than 600 people, including 300 call centre staff.

 

A profile on the Kentown Wizard Foundation website said: “Innovative, entrepreneurial and pioneering, Ken built his business empire through hard work and ingenuity. A self-made man through and through.

 

“But Ken’s remarkable story did not end there. To have built the Gold Medal empire in the way that he did was an astonishing achievement but what happened next is truly awe-inspiring. 

 

“In 2015 Ken decided that having amassed his fortune through hard work and ingenuity he would dedicate the bulk of it to benefit of others.

 

“And so Ken established The Kentown Wizard Foundation with the aim of having a positive and enduring impact on the lives of children and young adults with life-threatening conditions and serious disabilities. 

 

"He has since donated or pledged in excess of £100 million to the Foundation.”

 

When asked why he decided to gift such a substantial amount of money, he replied: “I didn’t want to just leave this money in my will to benefit various charities at some point in the future. I wanted to see it being used to help those in need now, today and tomorrow and to know that my success has been put to the best possible use.”

 

Announcing the death of ‘kind-hearted Ken’, a spokesperson for the Kentown Wizard Foundation said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our founder, Kenneth Townsley, who passed away peacefully on January 24, 2026.

 

“He was a remarkable entrepreneur, philanthropist and visionary, whose life and work have had a profound and lasting impact on the lives of thousands of children and young people.

 

“Ken was a self-made man, but he was also a man of great humility, compassion and purpose. He believed strongly in using his success to benefit others and was content to work quietly in doing so.

 

“His legacy will live on through the countless lives changed as a result of his extraordinary generosity.”

 

A statement from Gold Medal said: “Those who knew Ken personally, many who still work at Gold Medal today, remember him fondly as a man of deep humility who led not through grand gestures, but through a quiet, unwavering kindness that defined the workplace. 

 

"Whilst not a man for the spotlight, he was known for his vast heart and caring for his team with a sincerity that went far beyond professional duty, treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

 

Managing director Simon Applebaum said: "While I never had the privilege of knowing Ken personally, his legacy is woven into every part of Gold Medal.

 

"The company he built, the pioneering spirit he championed, and the values of kindness and respect he embedded into our culture continue to guide us today.

 

"We are deeply grateful for the foundations he laid which have allowed Gold Medal to thrive and grow into the business it is today. Our thoughts are with Ken’s family and all of our colleagues, past and present, who were fortunate enough to know him."

 

If Only sales director Tracy Docherty, who was previously head of sales at Gold Medal, described Townsley as "ahead of his time" and said he "built an amazing business that continues to thrive".