©Bloomberg Richard Budge Richard Budge, who has died at the age of 69, was the entrepreneur dubbed “King Coal” after he bought the bulk of the UK’s coal mines when the industry was privatised. His death from prostate cancer comes less than a year after Britain’s last deep pit, once owned by his RJB Mining, closed. Only a few surface mines remain of a once mighty industry. Budge himself was declared bankrupt in 2013 after pouring money into a series of lossmaking energy ventures, leaving millions of pounds in debts. More On this topic IN Obituaries Budge took a big gamble when acquiring 17 of the country’s last 19 deep mines in 1994 as British Coal was privatised. There was the bitter legacy of the year-long mining strike, rigid work practices and growing imports to contend with, plus his own lack of experience. “Some people thought of it as selling M&S to the corner shop,” says Nigel Yaxley, former marketing director of RJB. “But he soon showed he was committed to the industry.” Doncaster-based RJB paid £815m for 17 deep mines, 30 surface mines, more than 400m tonnes of reserves and nearly 50,000 acres of land. It also acquired 10,000 employees. There were three-year deals to supply power companies but in the late 1990s the price of coal fell sharply and with high fixed costs, RJB found it hard to adapt. Budge’s pleas for government subsidies fell on deaf ears. His taste for high living — he liked classic cars and enjoyed staying at London’s finest hotels — was at odds with the egalitarian image of the union-dominated coal mines. But he paid relatively well and built a good relationship with men at the coal face. “I had a lot of respect for him. He was very good at talking to working men. He would go underground and discuss things with them,” says Patrick Carragher, who represented managers in the British Association of Colliery Management. “He had coal running through his veins.” Indeed, Budge was forced out as the company’s chief executive in 2001, with a near £1m payoff, because of his reluctance to prioritise shareholders over staff. “He was more committed to the workers and the industry than to the financial community,” says Mr Yaxley. Budge also supported mining charities and sponsored the Grimethorpe Colliery band even after the pit closed. He is survived by his wife Ros, two sons and five grandchildren. Budge was undone by efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. Ministers piled taxes on coal and subsidised renewable energy. UK Coal, RJB’s successor, has now been wound up after mounting losses, with just a property arm left. He had bought the Hatfield colliery near Doncaster with the aim of building the UK’s first clean coal power station nearby. The business went bust in 2003 after failing to secure government funding. Yet Budge reopened Hatfield in 2007 with a second plan, which would have captured the carbon dioxide produced from burning coal and buried it. Despite securing Russian investment and €183m (£153m) of funding from the European Commission, the government backed away from the technology. The project was put into administration in 2010. Tony Lodge, of the Centre for Policy Studies, worked on energy policy with Budge. He said that “he had a vision but on clean coal he was probably 20 years ahead of his time”. Born in Lincolnshire on April 19 1947, Budge went to Boston Grammar School and then Manchester University to study fine arts. He started work with his brother’s company, AF Budge, which built motorway junctions and did some surface mining. As a racing driver he competed in several high-powered Chevron historic sports cars and was crowned Thundersports Gold Cup winner at Oulton Park in 1983. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

Pure fibre infrastructure provider, CityFibre, has started a new phase of construction as part of the Glasgow Gigabit City scheme. Glasgow city centre is being transformed as part of a radical upgrade of the city’s digital infrastructure. The new phase of the scheme will see the city centre connected to CityFibre’s existing 31km pure fibre network in Glasgow. Work has stated on Douglas Street, Renfrew Street and Ingram Street and will be expanding to bring next generation, ultra-fast internet connectivity to over 7,000 businesses. Some of the first companies to benefit from this state of the art connectivity will be design studio Graven Images, Michael Laird Architects, The Beacon and Laings Jewellers. The network also connects seven hospitals, including the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. CityFibre’s Head of Regional Development in Scotland, James McClafferty, commented on the project: “It is great to see our Gigabit City network now reaching the heart of Glasgow. Pure fibre connectivity and ultra-fast internet services are already changing the way thousands of businesses operate nationwide and now Glasgow’s business community will benefit too. “A Gigabit City network will help support the city’s growing demand for data, boost competitiveness and create new opportunities for digital entrepreneurs. The rise of digital is really transforming the way we live and work, but to keep up with trends and maintain Glasgow’s profile on the world stage, we need the infrastructure to match.” CityFibre’s launch partner for the Gigabit Glasgow project is HighNet, which opened new offices in the city’s St Vincent Street in August. HighNet is one of the internet service providers connecting businesses to the new pure fibre network. David J Siegel, Managing Director at HighNet, said: “We’re delighted to be able to provide such a huge leap forward for Glasgow businesses. High-capacity fibre connectivity backed up with a comprehensive Service Level Agreement enables transformative digital technologies to be introduced across all business sectors.

Oil remains cheapest home heating fuel Published:  25 May, 2016 New industry figures from the Sutherland Tables show that despite a slow increase in heating oil prices since the start of 2016, the average annual cost of heating a home on oil has fallen again, providing welcome news for the oil heating industry and homeowners alike. According to the latest quarterly data from the Sutherland Tables, an independent source of comparative UK domestic heating prices, oil remains by far the cheapest of all major home heating fuels. The cost of heating an average three bedroom home in Great Britain with an oil condensing boiler is now just £690 per year. That’s 31% less expensive than mains gas, the second cheapest option which costs £1,007 per annum; 52% cheaper than an LPG condensing boiler at £1,448 per annum and 56% cheaper than electric storage heaters at £1,588 per annum to heat the same average home. An oil condensing boiler is also substantially cheaper to run than any renewable heating option, according to the Tables. With average annual heating costs for oil users falling every quarter for the last three years, consumer confidence in oil heating has greatly increased. This is reflected by rising boiler sales which, for January to April this year, stand at the highest level since 2007. OFTEC director general Jeremy Hawksley said: “With three years of sustained falls in the average annual heating costs for oil, the industry has experienced a sustained period of sales growth. Consumers are sticking with oil as the cheapest home heating fuel by far, while homeowners on LPG or electric may consider switching to oil heating as the running costs are currently over £700 per year cheaper. “As a result, sales of oil condensing boilers have reached a nine year high and we are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from Gas Safe technicians looking to expand into the oil market. The outlook for the oil heating industry remains positive.” Although the sustained fall in kerosene prices may be about to end as prices begin to slowly rise, there’s good evidence to suggest the cost of heating oil will remain low for the remainder of 2016 – and quite possibly beyond. Mr Hawksley added: “An OPEC meeting last month ended without agreement to reduce oil production and, with Iran keen to regain its former market share, it’s likely that the current world over-supply will continue. “However, low prices have had some impact on production from US fracking and with increasing demand from China, there could be enough pressure to set prices rising, although probably not to anywhere near the highs we saw in Spring 2013. “Technicians, manufacturers and consumers look set to benefit from low oil prices for some time to come.” Source link