Rigby casts doubt on Birmingham LEP
One of the region’s best known entrepreneurs has expressed concerns about whether the Birmingham local enterprise partnership (LEP) will succeed.
Sir Peter Rigby told Insider LEPs will only take off if they are business-led, but argues Birmingham City Council has little record of working with private sector companies.
Rigby is the founder, chairman and chief executive of £2.24bn turnover Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH) and chairman of the Eden Hotel Collection, Patriot Aerospace Group and Coventry Airport.
His comments came in an exclusive interview with Insider as he announced the completion of a £20m data centre investment beside SCH’s headquarters at Tyseley in Birmingham.
He said: “LEPs have to have good business leadership and get business investment in the future development needs of the city and region. Will they achieve that? I don’t know.
“The remit for that leadership is totally vague. The government is not allocating resources. Hence I would question whether they will get somebody of the right calibre to take the role on.”
He is also concerned about rivalry between various LEPs. He suggest issues such as transport have to be approached on a regional basis.
If there was no real communication between LEPs then a “difficult situation” would arise,” he suggested.
And he added: “I started in Birmingham - not exactly the centre of high technology industry - but Birmingham does not seem to respond to a business unless it is in trouble and usually in automotive.
“The government is talking about wanting to see enterprise. Birmingham was an enterprising city. But think of all the companies that used to be here - how few there now are. And, of those that are left, many are headquartered elsewhere.
“What Birmingham needs to do is what this country needs to do - get moving, embrace new ideas and enterprising people and create an environment where these businesses can be supported.
“Yet Birmingham has not got a particularly good record of working with business. Local government has not been a supporter of business.
“I want LEPs to succeed because I have a big investment in Birmingham. Just like I want to see the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP succeed because I have a big investment there.
“There is a lot to do in Birmingham and there needs to be a real change in the relationship with business if business is to support LEPs and achieve what government is looking to achieve.”
