[
Born in 1982, Carolyn Radford became CEO of Mansfield Town FC in 2011, who have just won promotion to League One, the year before she married multi-millionaire One Call Insurance CEO and club owner, 59-year-old John Radford. She splits her time between a ten-bedroom mansion in Nottinghamshire and a villa in the Algarve’s upmarket Quinta do Lago resort with her husband and their three sons Hugo, nine, and eight-year-old twins Rupert and Albert.
WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET?
I’m like the Queen – or the King; is he like that? – so I’m not a cash person at all. I don’t even carry cards anymore. It’s all on my phone. I’m quite into the app Revolut, as it’s a really easy method of just seeing where everything is. Although the football club is now a cashless stadium, it’s been a difficult transition because traditionally it’s been quite a cash-based business and it’s been hard to convince some people, as not everyone, particularly some of the older fans, have digital banking.
ARE YOU FLASHY OR FRUGAL?
People might expect me to be flashy but I’m definitely frugal. I like to have quality, but I’m very careful with how I spend my money. I’ve always believed that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves. People might look at me and think I’ll just spend my money on anything, but I’m not like that. I’m not stupid with money and we do a lot of things ourselves around the house. There have been times when we’ve had help with the domestic chores and childcare but when we don’t, we like to do it ourselves as it keeps you grounded. And fit.
DO YOU OWN A PROPERTY?
My husband John and I own properties in the UK and Portugal, and we own rental properties too. For me it’s important to live in a property in a safe area, as we’ve been burgled in the past. I think I’m quite good at investing in properties that won’t make a loss on in the future. In terms of the club, that’s in a prime location and I’m sure Tesco would love to buy it but it’s very much part of the community, so we won’t be selling it. In fact, we’ll shortly be building a new stand.
HOW WAS IT FOR YOU GROWING UP?
My mum was a teacher, and my dad ran various businesses, and it feels like it was an easier time 30 years ago that it is now to raise a family, but things were quite comfortable. We’d go shopping to Tesco on a Saturday afternoon together and on holidays in the South of France, but I was definitely made aware of the value of money and how hard it was to make and also how hard it was to manage.
HAVE YOU EVER STRUGGLED FINANCIALLY?
I think everybody struggles, especially if you’re running a business. We always try to put the business first. Thousands of people rely on us keeping the balance sheet in order, so they receive their salaries, and my husband has helped me understand how important that is. Money is never easy, and it certainly doesn’t buy you happiness, and you’re exactly the same person with money as you are without it, but it does buy you opportunity.
HOW MUCH WERE YOU PAID FOR YOUR FIRST JOB?
My first ever job was as a 14-year-old in the local pie shop where I was brought up in Lancashire, selling custard tarts and hot pots and meat and potato pies, and I was paid about £15 for a day’s work, working from 6am until about two pm in the afternoon.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST LUCRATIVE WORK?
I’m not sure about the most lucrative thing, but the most important thing has been education. That was very important for me, and I value it for my children too. It’s important to have qualifications to fall back on.
WHAT’S YOUR BEST BUSINESS DECISION?
For Mansfield, employing a quality manager has made a real difference. And not changing the manager – and therefore the squad – too often. That, and investing in the training ground which we’re hoping will give our own younger players the best possible chance of coming through.
WORST INVESTMENT?
Buying the wrong players can be a problem. There are so many variables involved in buying a player and a lot of it can be panic. You might have injuries or managers saying they have no players, and you’ll then have the fans on your back shouting, ‘put your hand in your pocket.’ There was a time when I’d panic and in the pit of your stomach, you’d know you weren’t making the right decision. Then that new player would get injured or just wouldn’t fit into the system, but with experience you realise that the circle just goes round and round and you learn to make better recruitment decisions.
MONEY WEAKNESS?
My husband says I buy too many clothes and that I’m always saying I never have anything to wear. I’m getting into the whole Vinted thing now; the resale market, which I think is really good for the environment, and it’s also good to be able to move your wardrobe assets. One thing I don’t have a weakness for any more is jewellery, because we had a couple of robberies, but I do still like a good handbag.
WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?
It definitely would have been jewellery, but because of my experience of losing them I don’t want to buy them anymore. I used to buy them as investments before the robberies, but now I’m too scared to wear anything publicly. It’s made me paranoid that having things like that will attract more burglars. Now, If I’m being extravagant, it’s more likely to be spending money on experiences, like recently we had a family holiday to Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida, although the kids definitely enjoyed it more than me. I’m not into rollercoasters.
WHAT’S YOUR BEST FOR RETIREMENT: PROPERTY OR PENSION?
To be honest I can’t see myself ever retiring as I always want to keep that sense of purpose, but I think properties is what we’ll concentrate on.
WHAT ARE YOUR FINANCIAL PRIORITIES FOR 2024?
Personally, I want to become better at not making emotional decisions in terms of purchasing and fashion. I’ve lost a little bit of weight over the last year, so I’ve gone to football matches and thought, ‘I’ve got nothing to wear,’ so I’ve made a few emotional purchases that have left me with that feeling of buyer’s remorse, so I want to do better there. And I want to organise my wardrove better and not over buy things. I need to stop buying rubbish and clutter, whether it’s for my wardrobe or the house. I need to reduce overspending on things I don’t need. For the club, the goal is to achieve promotion from League Two – we’re currently top of the league – to League One and if we do achieve that, not to overspend when we get there as it’s a big step up.
Carolyn Radford is the CEO of Mansfield Town
