About Liverpool John Moores University (UK)

The University is named in honour of Sir John Moores, a true visionary and shrewd successful businessman, who founded in 1923, and headed until 1982, what was then the UK’s largest and most profitable privately owned company, Littlewoods, comprising retailing, mail order and the football pools. Based in Liverpool, the impact of the family business was immense, and in 1987 the Polytechnic recognised Sir John’s outstanding contribution to the region’s business and community life by making him its first Honorary Fellow. His philanthropic and cultural legacy is reflected in the biennial John Moores Painting Prize, established in 1957 to recognise the best contemporary painting in the UK. The University now collaborates with the College of Fine Arts in Shanghai University on the biennial John Moores Painting Prize (China) competition, which allows Chinese artists to complete a month-long residency at our Liverpool School of Art and Design. Sir John’s eldest son, John Moores Jr, served as the University’s second Chancellor from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Henry Cotton. His eldest daughter, Lady Grantchester, was admitted as an Honorary Fellow of the University in 2015.