Simon Morris is a business entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 specializing in property. He is the owner/founder

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 of Morris Properties (UK).

Career

Morris began in business selling leather coats after he had dropped out one year into a law degree at Lancaster University

Lancaster University

Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...

. After buying and refurbishing a flat he formed Morris Properties, specialising in residential property for students and young professionals. Its foundations are in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, but the company is also involved in developments across Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 as well as in Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

 and Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

. Morris Properties (UK) is totally owned by its founder and made a £15.4m profit in 2005-06, while First City Rentals, in which Morris has a 65% stake, made a £2.3m profit. In 2008 the company went into administration with £50m of debts, in 2009 Morris was declared bankrupt.

Morris, a former director of Leeds United tabled a bid to buy the club. That bid failed as Ken Bates

Ken Bates

Kenneth William Bates is a British businessman and football executive. The current chairman and now owner of Leeds United AFC, Bates was previously chairman and majority shareholder of Chelsea FC from 1982 until 2003....

retained control of club after winning 75.2% of the votes from creditors.

Morris is under investigation by the BBC and Panorama over his business dealings.

Morris was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court to 18 months in jail for conspiracy to blackmail an ex-business partner.