NPG scores £5m from Randy Lerner

While the American owners of Manchester United and Liverpool have attracted abuse for saddling their new clubs with hefty debts, Randy Lerner's stewardship of Aston Villa has been welcomed by Villa fans. Now, it seems, art fans too will be singing the "There's only one Randy Lerner" chant after the American football tycoon handed the National Portrait Gallery its biggest-ever private donation - £5m.

Lerner, who bought Aston Villa FC for £62m of his own money in 2006, will hand over the cash during the next three years. Half of the money - which comes from his family trust, The Lerner Foundation - will go towards buying new portraits to beef up the collection, while the rest will be spent on research, display and promotional work. In return, the NPG's ground-floor galleries will carry his name.

It's not the first sign of Lerner's philanthropy: last year he announced that he wouldn't stand in the way of his club manager Martin O'Neill if the job of England coach were offered to him. In the event, the FA chose Fabio Capello and O’Neill got to stay.

Lerner, who has a house in Kensington, says he became interested in art in his 20s, spending his afternoons wandering round the National Gallery and the Tate. The billionaire refuses to describe himself as a collector, saying: "I just own some pictures". These include works by Humphrey Ocean, Stephen Chambers and David Austin - all of them bought "between impulse and recklessness".

However, Lerner says the NPG gift is not so much about a love of art as a result of years of friendship between him and the gallery’s director, Sandy Nairne. The director called the donation "fantastic" and said that despite the fact that he "grew up with Rugby Union and rowing to be honest", the Villa were now his team.