After his playing career, Lee moved into business. His toilet roll manufacturing business FH Lee Ltd once employed
Peter Kay, later a famous comedian, who mentions his time there in his autobiography,
The Sound of Laughter. In 1994, Lee became chairman of Manchester City, ousting
Peter Swales from the position by purchasing £3 million of shares at a price of £13.35 per share. Lee was welcomed as a hero by City's supporters, who had formed a movement named
Forward With Franny backing his attempt to gain control of the club. Upon becoming chairman, Lee made a series of extravagant claims about his plans for the club, announcing that "This will be the happiest club in the land. The players will be the best paid and we'll drink plenty of champagne, celebrate and sing until we're hoarse". Lee stepped down in 1998, with the club on the brink of relegation to the third tier of English football, a fate that Lee had dismissed at the previous annual general meeting by saying that he would "jump off the
Kippax" if the club were relegated. He was succeeded by
David Bernstein. Lee retained a shareholding after leaving the board of directors but later sold all his shares to
Thaksin Shinawatra in 2007. In addition to his business ventures, Lee also had a career as a
racehorse trainer. Notable horses trained by Lee include
Sir Harry Hardman,
Allwight Then and
Young Jason. Lee gave the trade up in 1996 to pursue his business commitments. In a training career which ran from 1984 to 1996, he trained the winners of 181 races in Britain and Ireland. Jockey
Willie Carson said ""He was quite a good trainer and had a proper team of horses at one point." ==Personal life==