Abbey business centres
| The Lord Laidlaw | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Irvine Laidlaw 22 December 1942 Keith, Banffshire |
| Residence |
Monaco London Noordhoek, Cape Town |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Merchiston Castle School |
| Alma mater |
Leeds University Columbia Business School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Institute for International Research |
| Net worth | £745 million (2012) |
| Title | Baron Laidlaw of Rothiemay |
| Political party | Conservative Party |
| Spouse(s) | Christine |
Irvine Alan Stewart Laidlaw, Baron Laidlaw (born 12 December 1942 in Keith, Banffshire, Scotland) is a Scottish businessman, and a former member of the House of Lords. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2012 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 105th with an estimated fortune of £745 million.
The son of a Banffshire mill-owner, Laidlaw was educated at Merchiston Castle School, Leeds University and New York City's Columbia Business School. Laidlaw, a former member of the House of Lords also donated $2 million to Columbia Business School for scholarships and increased opportunities for Business students. Lord Irvine Laidlaw founded The Laidlaw Undergraduate Internship Programme in research and Leadership at the University of St Andrews, after donating to the cause. He is also an honorary graduate at the university. As well as the being the founder, Laidlaw is a Trustee of The Laidlaw Schools Trust (LST), which was approved by the DfE as a multi-academy sponsor. It was established on the 24th May 2012.
After graduation, Laidlaw turned a small US publishing company bought in 1973 into the Institute for International Research (IIR), the world's largest conference organiser. After calling off a £500m flotation in 2001 when the market plunged, he sold in 2005 for a sum believed to be in the order of £768m.
Laidlaw previously owned and raced a Jaguar, which won Le Mans a number of times throughout the 1950s, along with a number of other vintage cars, including a 1962 Ferrari GTO. in 2013, Irvine Laidlaw stopped racing. He recently sold a collection of classic sports cars to raise £17 million.
In 1988 Laidlaw founded Abbey Business Centres, a subsidiary of IIR providing serviced office space, meeting room facilities and virtual office packages in 13 business centres in Great Britain. The first business centre opened in Glasgow, and soon the company opened up another centre in Slough, Berkshire. Other centres were added, and in 2009 a total of 13 centres made up the organisation.
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