The Rise of Self Generated Wealth
By Bob Dixon
HISTORICALLY the North-East of England has at different times been the bridgehead for the Roman Empire, held the seat of national power in the form of Bamburgh and been at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution.
We were inextricably linked to the birth of the Industrial Revolution with the invention of steam turbines, locomotion and the invention of hydraulic machinery.
Great local entrepreneurs such as George Stephenson, Sir Charles Parsons and Lord Armstrong had a profound impact on the development of the world economy.
The result was an unparalleled growth in regional prosperity, which led to the North-East leading the world stage of invention, born out of wealth creation.
Evidence of this genius is exemplified at Cragside, which was the first house in the world to be lit with hydroelectricity.
The owner of Cragside, Lord Armstrong, also generated sufficient wealth to acquire Bamburgh Castle in 1894 for the princely sum of pounds 60,000 and then spend pounds 1m restoring it as a care home for elderly gentlemen. What this equates to in today’s terms is hard to calculate. But it seems Lord Armstrong was the Bill Gates of his time.
From this industrial heritage the region became reliant upon coal, engineering, steel production and shipbuilding.
Between the First and Second World Wars these industries were caught up in the Depression and only recovered their full influence with the onset of the Second World War.
Within the more stable world which emerged after the war, our large employers began to disappear as the coal industry, engineering, steel, shipbuilding and chemical industries all contracted at broadly the same time.
Many regional economies would have collapsed with the job losses which accompanied the restructure of British Steel, the National Coal Board, ICI, Swan Hunter and the move of many of our plc head offices to other parts of the UK. Rather than allowing these changes to become insurmountable, many new small regional businesses were formed.
This transformation from an economy largely reliant on larger employers and blue-collar jobs to self-generated wealth has been remarkable.
Evidence of our progress can be seen all around us, with cranes dominating our cityscapes, new offices being built at a pace the equally impressive luxury flats can’t match.
Billions of pounds of regeneration money are being injected in our quayside areas and large industrial sites are being transformed.
With hindsight, Coutts’s decision to open a North-East office in 1998 has been vindicated, with the North-East attracting unprecedented wealth for those that live and work here.
Looking back over nine years, the rise of the regional entrepreneur has been startling, with a strong proportion of wealth here being driven by “new money” – personal enterprise and a willingness to go it alone.
While this has never been more prevalent than it is today, it is also executives and professionals such as doctors, lawyers and accountants who have been increasingly influential and in turn a driver of wealth.
Even the marked stock market downturn of the early 2000s could not diminish the enthusiasm of Coutts at being represented in the North-East of England.
Having opened with seven staff, the bank now has 13 on the team, looking after the private affairs of some 850 regional entrepreneurs.
Such has been the success of the business that further expansion is planned to meet burgeoning demand.
More staff, new premises and an ever-growing flow of referrals from clients lie ahead for the regional Coutts team.
We are no longer a business of traditional wealth, but one of enterprising regional entrepreneurs who have secured their wealth, are reinvesting their wealth regionally and who are increasingly willing to share their know-how to give others a hitch up on to the entrepreneurial ladder.
Every day we meet new inspiring businesspeople who are generating wealth for our region and who are driving the economic prosperity of the North-East.
This expanded wealth creates extended employment opportunities and has created an extraordinary economic renaissance, given the hurdles we have faced. All excellent news for those of us who love living in the North-East.
Such has been the success of the Coutts North-East business that its regional office is to be expanded with investment in offices at Trinity Gardens, on Newcastle Quayside. With the benefit of new and larger space, the regional team is being expanded to meet the rapidly increasing demand. It is further proof of the burgeoning success of the North-East economy.
Bob Dixon is a senior banker at Coutts, Newcastle.
(c) 2007 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.