A multi-millionaire businessman and Tory peer is behind plans to build hundreds of student flats in Dundee city centre.
Lord Irvine Laidlaw’s firm wants to transform Telephone House – the current BT offices – into student accommodation complete with a cinema and yoga studio.
The Scot featured on this year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £749 million.
We revealed earlier this week that plans had been submitted to Dundee City Council for the site on Ward Road by Hindscarth Estates, based in the Isle of Man, through agents Ryden.
Hindscarth Estates lists Lord Laidlaw as its ‘beneficial owner’ in Companies House documents.
Who is Lord Irvine Laidlaw?
The 80-year-old, from Keith in Moray, is a serial entrepreneur who founded the Institute for International Research Ltd (IIR) which became the world’s largest conference and training company.
He sold it in 2005 for $1.4 billion to Informa Plc.
Lord Laidlaw, married to Lady Christine, has since gone on to build a large property company and invest extensively in sustainable energy.
That includes the Veja Mate Offshore Wind Farm off Germany, where he was the majority owner.
He is also involved with the building of a renewable power resource in Rwanda and has set up The Laidlaw Foundation.
Political interests
Lord Laidlaw was also involved in Conservative politics for 20 years, initially through support for the party in Westminster.
He later became a major financial supporter of the party in Scotland.
At one time he was reported to be the Tories’ biggest donor. He is believed to have donated around £6m to the party under David Cameron’s leadership alone.
In 2004, he was created a Life Baron and entered the House of Lords as Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay.
He sat in the House of Lords for six years before resigning in 2010, a year after being pulled from US waters when his helicopter crash landed.
Plans for hundreds of Dundee student flats
The planning application for the BT offices says 417 student flats could be created across six floors.
A cinema, a gym with a yoga studio, study, game rooms and a library are also included in the ambitious proposals.
The application states the building, occupied by BT since the 1970s, is “no longer suitable for modern day office occupiers”.
Around 1,000 BT workers will move into new multi-million-pound offices at West Marketgait next year.
We have asked Lord Laidlaw for comment.
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