Philanthropist’s praise for an ‘outstanding’ city

Sir Bob Murray CBE will be installed as Leeds Metropolitan University’s new Chancellor on Monday.

Sir Bob is a renowned businessman, philanthropist, and enthusiastic supporter of education.

His links with the university go back to 1969, when he moved to Yorkshire to study accountancy part-time at the university’s predecessor, Leeds Polytechnic. In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in business administration by Leeds Metropolitan for his contribution to business and sport.

Sir Bob was born in Consett, Co Durham in August 1946. He was the only child of a fourth generation Sunderland mining family.

His progress was hindered by a childhood accident and he left school with just one O Level. There was no prospect of him joining the local steelworks where his father worked. In the early 1960s, he was unemployed for a year. However, through hard work he turned his life around.

In 1978, he co-founded Spring Ram, a company which targeted the home improvement market. By 1989, it was making profits of £22m a year.

He is currently non-executive chairman of Omega, the branded kitchen manufacturer, and Sterling Capitol, a property development and investment company based in Leeds.

Sir Bob became chairman of Sunderland Football Club in 1986, and was the driving force behind the club’s move to the Stadium of Light in 1997.

Yesterday, Sir Bob recalled that he had got his education the hard way, over 10 years.

He never forgot the experience of being on the dole, because it made him determined to succ-eed.

He said: “I was unemployed for a year, it was the most important year of my life.”

He praised Leeds Metropolitan University for being socially inclusive and not elitist.

“Their ideals are my ideals,” he said.

When asked what advice he would give to entrepreneurs starting out in business, he said: “Always surround yourself with good people that you trust – people with integrity and loyalty, and work very hard.”

He added: “I’m a big admirer of Leeds city council. The Leeds Arena (which is due to open later this year) is a landmark building.

“Leeds is outstanding at the moment.”

His desire to create a learning legacy and his passion for social inclusion led to the establishment of the Foundation of Light, the registered charity, which aims to increase the motivation, educational attainment and personal skills of young people across the North.

Sir Bob described the Foundation of Light as the “biggest life changer in education in the North East”.