Nigel Edward Doughty (10 June 1957 – 4 February 2012) was a British investor and football club owner, who was co-chairman and co-founder of Doughty Hanson & Co, a European private equity firm based in London.
Doughty was born in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Doughty Hanson & Co traces its history back to 1985 when Doughty and Richard Hanson began working together on European investments. Doughty completed his Cranfield BA in 1984 and became a Distinguished Alumnus of the Cranfield School of Management in 2004.[1] He made a personal donation in 2006 to establish the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management.[2] He was also President of The Cranfield Trust.[3] Doughty was a Trustee of the Doughty Family Foundation[4] and the Doughty Hanson Charitable Foundation.[5]
Around 2010, Doughty was an Assistant Treasurer of the Labour Party[6] and Chairman of the Small Business Taskforce policy review.[7] He was a member of the World Economic Forum in Davos.[8]
Doughty bought control of Nottingham Forest F.C. for £11 million in 1999.[9] After the departure of Steve McClaren as Forest manager in October 2011, Doughty announced his decision to step down as Forest chairman by the end of the 2011–12 season.[10] Doughty's son Michael is a professional footballer.