Businessman
Born: February 25, 1936;
Died: December 25, 2016
PETER Ross, who has died aged 80, was a charismatic businessman who started out in the family firm, the tea merchants Wm Wright & Co, but branched out on his own to build a business that included interests in retail, aviation, house building and hotels.
Born one of the five children of John and Evangeline Ross, he was educated at Glasgow Academy and did his two years national service with the Royal Artillery after which he returned to work with Wrights as a tea taster and salesman. However, he was soon to leave family business behind and start on his own, working from home. He introduced to Scotland a new system of agricultural drainage and bought a licensed grocer shop, supported by his wife Elliot, a primary school teacher. The couple’s hard work led to modest success and the seed business interest was to grow into a group taking its name from their first home Burnthills.
The expanding Burnthills Group moved to the disused Finlayson-Blousfield Mills, Johnstone, where it developed into Scotland’s most diverse collection of industrial businesses with companies specialising in contracting, plant hire, forced-air heater sales (pioneered in Scotland by Burnthills), shops, aviation (including the only ever commercial West Coast passenger helicopter service), demolition, property, house building, insurance services (Peter was a Lloyds Name), a newspaper, local radio, and hotels. The latter interest was spun out as Norscot Hotels plc which Mr Ross took to the market in 1985 capitalising on Norscot’s success in the north-east’s oil boom during which they cleverly achieved over 100 per cent room occupancy by selling beds to night-shift oil workers as well as daytime tourists.
The group’s hotel portfolio expanded, with properties ranging from Thurso to the Lake District. A favourite of Peter Ross’s was Stonefield Castle Hotel, Loch Fyne, which he bought back when Norscot was sold to Pleasurama (subsequently Rank). The Castle hosted his wife’s 50th birthday and their silver wedding anniversary.
After renovation of both castle and gardens the hotel was soon to become the foundation of a new business group. The Stonefield Group was created in 1990 after Mr Ross took an interest in Bowfield Country Club, Howwood. He then built up a mixed chain of hotel and leisure companies, varying from ten-pin bowling and hi-fi to country house hotels, including Hebridean Island Cruises plc.
Peter Ross had an extraordinary ability to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Able to leave the day-to-day running to his colleagues, his style was individualistic and entrepreneurial. He chaired every company in which he invested but would listen to the most junior member of staff and value reports from them as much as from his accountants, managers and fellow directors.
Anyone working for him could rely on his support. Former staff tell stories of how he would privately help them with problems within or out-with work. He could be firm but was always fair. In negotiations, his ability to research then understand the other side’s circumstance was remarkable.
During his career, he was listed as a director in over 70 companies. In 1974 he helped found Johnstone Rotary in which he served as president and sought out weekly meetings to attend whenever away from his home town. Rotary International honoured him with the Paul Harris Fellowship in 1995. He won the Aims of Industry Scotland Award in 1982. The Princess Royal was a patron of his Stonefield Castle Hotel and in 2007 the Queen granted royal warrant to the Hebridean Princess, one of his cruise ships.
In 2008 he started to show signs of dementia but even then, he was capable of grasping the enormity of the problems facing the banking world and the impact a looming financial crisis might have on his businesses.
He stepped down as group chairman although continued as a consultant for a couple of years until deteriorating health forced him give up completely, if reluctantly. Elliot, family and friends nursed him at home for as long as was possible before he was transferred to the loving care of Erskine Park where he died unexpectedly on Christmas Day. Elliot lives on at the Ayrshire home they shared for over 40 years. She remains able to enjoy the beautiful grounds which they restored and looked after together.
ALISTAIR CAMPBELL
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