Lawrence Tomlinson
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Tomlinson is an English
businessman, who with an estimated fortune of £500 million, ranks 178th on the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List
.
, West Yorkshire
. After attending the local grammar school
, he studied engineering at Huddersfield Technical College. Sponsored by Wellman Bibby, he then undertook an engineering degree at Bradford University, where in his sandwich year he worked on power transmission coupling projects.
damper prototypes.
Consolidating the core care homes operation under the Orchard Care Homes brand, by 2007 it had 1000 beds across 26 homes, with additional homes under construction scheduled to expand the group to 56 homes with over 2,200 beds across the north of England. In 2007, Orchard was sold to its management for £175m. Since the sale, he has set up the Ideal Care Homes operation.
to first place in the GT2 class of the Le Mans 24 hour race. In 2009 he raced the in-house developed Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S, which was raced in 2010 by Nigel Mansell
.
In what he later described as his Victor Kiam moment
, in 2005 Tomlinson bough Ginetta Cars
from the group of enthusiasts who had bought it out of administration. Tomlinson designed the specification for the Ginetta G50
car which was built within six months, and now races in GT championships across the world, and has its own Ginetta GT Supercup series in the UK. After Ginetta won "Small Business of the Year" from the Motorsport Industry Association
in 2008, and the Ginetta G50 crowned "Autosport’s Car of the Year," in 2009 Tomlinson was nominated by the MIA for the "Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport" award.
Today the LNT Group and Ginetta are housed in a purpose built site in Garforth
, Leeds
. Opened by Damon Hill OBE
in December 2007, it houses both the group headquarters and the Ginetta car factory.
, North Yorkshire
, with his wife and their four children.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
businessman, who with an estimated fortune of £500 million, ranks 178th on the 2011 Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
.
Early life
The son of the owners of TriCare, a small group of care homes, he was born and gew up in BatleyBatley
Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies southeast of Bradford, southwest of Leeds and north of Dewsbury, near the M62 motorway. It has a population of 49,448 . Other nearby towns include Morley to the northeast, Ossett to the southeast...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. After attending the local grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, he studied engineering at Huddersfield Technical College. Sponsored by Wellman Bibby, he then undertook an engineering degree at Bradford University, where in his sandwich year he worked on power transmission coupling projects.
Career
On graduation in 1987, he joined Holset Engineering as a graduate trainee, with responsibility for the production of the crankshaftCrankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
damper prototypes.
LNT Group
During this period he founded LNT Group, which purchased the TriCare care home company owned by his parents, with a £526,000 bank loan, equivalent to £1 million in 2011. Noticing that there was a need for a specialist care homes developer, he set up LNT Construction, which designs and builds bespoke care homes. Developing the core care homes operation, he then set-up CoolBlue Software. Writing the base code himself, the company now sells a bespoke care home operations system, presently deployed in over 800 care homes in the UK. The LNT Group also includes: Haigh Mechanical and Electrical; Basic Solutions.Consolidating the core care homes operation under the Orchard Care Homes brand, by 2007 it had 1000 beds across 26 homes, with additional homes under construction scheduled to expand the group to 56 homes with over 2,200 beds across the north of England. In 2007, Orchard was sold to its management for £175m. Since the sale, he has set up the Ideal Care Homes operation.
Motor racing
An enthusiastic race care driver, in 2006, Tomlinson ad his two co-drivers steered the Team LNT Panoz EsperantePanoz Esperante
The Esperante is a sports car made by Panoz, an American car manufacturer.There are several models of the Esperante: the base model, the GT, the GTLM, the GTS, and the JRD . Additionally, Panoz is more than willing to work with the buyer to make special modifications to any of the stock models...
to first place in the GT2 class of the Le Mans 24 hour race. In 2009 he raced the in-house developed Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S, which was raced in 2010 by Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
.
In what he later described as his Victor Kiam moment
Victor Kiam
Victor K. Kiam was an American entrepreneur and the owner of the New England Patriots football team from 1988-1991....
, in 2005 Tomlinson bough Ginetta Cars
Ginetta Cars
Ginetta Cars is a Garforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire based British specialist builder of racing and sports cars.-20th century:Ginetta was founded in 1958 by the four Walklett brothers in Woodbridge, Suffolk...
from the group of enthusiasts who had bought it out of administration. Tomlinson designed the specification for the Ginetta G50
Ginetta G50
Ginetta G50 is a specialist GT4 class-developed racing car, designed by Ginetta Cars.-Development:In late 2007, in what he later described as his Victor Kiam moment, Leeds-based businessman Lawrence Tomlinson bough Ginetta Cars from the group of enthusiasts, who themselves had bought it out of...
car which was built within six months, and now races in GT championships across the world, and has its own Ginetta GT Supercup series in the UK. After Ginetta won "Small Business of the Year" from the Motorsport Industry Association
Motorsport Industry Association
The Motorsport Industry Association is the trade association for the motorsport industry in the United Kingdom. Most top-level motorsport constructors are based in the UK. Around 75% of motorsport research and development takes place in the UK.-History:...
in 2008, and the Ginetta G50 crowned "Autosport’s Car of the Year," in 2009 Tomlinson was nominated by the MIA for the "Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport" award.
Today the LNT Group and Ginetta are housed in a purpose built site in Garforth
Garforth
Garforth is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. The 2001 Census lists 23,892 residents in the Garforth and Swillington ward - 80.57% of which are homeowners, 20% more than the average for Leeds. Garforth itself has 15,394 of those people...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. Opened by Damon Hill OBE
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...
in December 2007, it houses both the group headquarters and the Ginetta car factory.
Personal life
Tomlinson lives near HarrogateHarrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, with his wife and their four children.