How exactly did Stockport County's owner Mark Stott make his cash? | OneFootball

We looked at how Stockport County owner Mark Stott made his fortune as the club continue to climb up the League One table.

It is fair to say that Stockport County have been a club transformed since being taken over by Mark Stott in 2020.

After suffering relegation from League Two in 2011, Stockport spent the next 11 years outside the EFL, and during that exile, they even dropped as low as the National League North.

Hatters supporters have certainly seen some dark times over the past decade, but the club is now heading in the right direction once again, and much of that is down to Stott's vision and financial backing.

Stockport County's remarkable rise under Mark Stott

Stott completed his takeover of Stockport in January 2020, and he set out his plan to lead the club back to the Championship within seven years.

With the Hatters sitting in the National League at the time, that seemed like an incredibly ambitious objective, and Stott's reign got off to a turbulent start as he sacked two managers - Jim Gannon and Simon Rusk - during his first two years in charge.

However, Stockport's fortunes changed when Stott poached current manager Dave Challinor from League Two side Hartlepool United in November 2021, and just six months later, the 49-year-old guided the club back to the EFL.

The Hatters suffered heartbreak as they were beaten on penalties by Carlisle United in the League Two play-off final in the 2022-23 campaign, but that disappointment only seemed to motivate them as they finished as champions last season, sealing a return to League One after a 14-year absence.

Stockport have seamlessly adapted to life back in the third tier, and their rise up the leagues is showing no sign of stopping, with Challinor's men currently in contention for promotion to the Championship, meaning Stott's seven-year goal could be achieved well ahead of schedule.

There is no doubt that Stott has been the driving force behind the Hatters' success in recent years, and we looked at how he made his money.

How Stockport County owner Mark Stott made his wealth

Stott grew up on the Parklands Estate in Stockport, and some of his early ventures into the business world included selling advertising space for a local newspaper, selling cars and setting up a small IT company, while he also opened a bar called Eskimo, but that did not prove to be a success.

However, Stott then became involved in the property industry when he founded the Select Property Group in 2004, and they have since become an industry leader, with the company claiming to be one of the first to recognise the investment potential of the property market in Dubai.

Stott is also the CEO of the Vita Group, who Select partnered with in 2012 to form Vita Student, and they have since been responsible for the construction of student accommodation in many of the UK's major cities, as well as selling thousands of apartments to investors from across the globe.

In August 2021, the Vita Group agreed a £165 million deal to sell four student residence sites to Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd - a Singapore-based development, investment, capital and property management company.

Stockport supporters will be familiar with the name Vita Group as they have been the club's front-of-shirt sponsor since the start of the 2021-22 season.

In addition to his ownership of the Hatters, Stott became involved with North West Counties League side Stockport Town when he purchased a majority stakeholding in the group that owns the club, Pro Football Academy, in July 2021.

Stott's exact net worth is unknown, but it is clear that he has built up significant wealth through his property businesses, and his commitment to Stockport was underlined in the summer of 2022 when he wrote off £7.7 million worth of debt that was owed to him from his takeover of the club.