Richard Budge
Richard John Budge (19 April 1947 – 18 July 2016) was a coal mining entrepreneur and chairman of The Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisations. Early life He went to Boston Grammar School in Lincolnshire. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Manchester. Career He entered the coal mining industry when he joined the company of Retford-based A.F. Budge, owned by his brother Tony (1939–2010), which ran opencast mines. It was also involved in civil engineering schemes such as the construction of motorways. The company also sponsored the December Gold Cup horse race at Cheltenham Racecourse from 1988 to 1991. In February 1992, Richard Budge bought the opencast coal and Plant division from the family business with venture capital backing from Schroder Ventures for circa £103m, a transaction approved by Charterhouse Ventures and Prudential Ventures which were preference shareholders of AF Budge. A.F. Budge was majority owned by his elder brother Tony Budge. RJB Mining When the UK coal industry was privatised in 1994, Budge bought most of the pits for £815m, forming RJB Mining, which he had started in 1992 after buying his brother's opencast business division for £102.5m. This led to Budge being christened King Coal. He bought