Sir Martin Laing dies aged 81

Market veteran Sir Martin Laing has actually passed away in healthcare facility in Malta at the age of 81, following a brief disease.

Born upon 18 January 1942, Laing signed up with the household company John Laing plc in 1965 and prospered his dad Sir Kirby Laing as chairman in 1985, staying because post till January 2002. He passed away on 27 December 2023.

Sir Martin stepped down after offering the company’s building arm for ₤ 1 to among its subcontractors, O’Rourke. The merged business, Laing O’Rourke, is now the UK’s third-largest building business.

The knockdown cost was far lower than the ₤ 100m-plus anticipated when John Laing’s building and construction organization was initially offered in November 2000, following loss-making tasks such as the Centuries Stadium in Cardiff and the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, Greater London.

Sir Martin was the last Laing relative to chair the London-based business, which was established by his great-grandfather James Laing in 1848.

He stayed as a non-executive director of Laing O’Rourke till April 2004, when he ended up being honorary president.

Knighted in 1997 for services to the building and construction market, Sir Martin likewise invested more than 30 years as chair of the John Laing Charitable Trust (JLCT). To name a few posts, he chaired the British Overseas Trade Board (1995- 1999) and the World Wide Fund for Nature UK (1990-1997).

In 2004, he got an honorary doctorate of science from Kingston University in London for promoting sustainable building.

He is endured by his other half Stephanie, who he wed in 1965; his boy Edward and child Alexandra; and 5 grandchildren.

In an online homage, the JLCT mentioned that Sir Martin will be “particularly missed out on” by his household and “lots of countless others to whose lives he made a genuine distinction through his numerous business and charitable activities”.