In this episode Mark interviews The Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire. Mr David Laing of Laing  Construction, whose illustrious career spans several decades. Mark makes this episode become a very open discussion between two entrepreneurs from very different periods.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• (5.00) David Laing’s business history intrigues Mark. He asks David about the construction dynasty which started in 1845.David Laing tells us how he was on his way up to Edinburgh recently when they stopped off at Gretna. This made David think about how his Grandfather and his Grandfathers father had been responsible for building the town. Gretna was set up as one of the main munitions factories during the 1st world war. He goes on to tell us about how they built miles of factories and accommodation for 50,000 workers.
• (7.12) David Laing continues to tell Mark about the growth of Laing’, how the expertise in concrete continued and how they built the M1 he discusses all of the buildings, bridges and so on through this period which included the Millennium dome. Mark and David discuss the benefits of the Dome.
• (25.52) Mark probes David’s outlook on politics by asking David to pick up on a thread from earlier in the conversation. Mark outlines concerns within the community if The Labour Party came into power. David Laing gives a considered reply by covering the various dangers of inflation, profit, tax and the probability of who would be the front man for Labour. The discussion goes on too looking at trade generally covering Brexit, Donald Trump and the world.
• (37.25) Mark asks David Laing where we are in regards to Cycles/Timing. David says we are still in the fairly golden times at present, property is still rising and there is a lack of housing, he advises that it could be a couple of years time when Brexit and /or Corbyn could be the triggers for change, so try to keep within you borrowing limit, retail is definitely not an option for profitability.
• (45.40) After a brief discussion on gearing, covenants and the percentages obtained, Mark moves the interview away from business and asks David “what do you do for Her Majesty?” Davis Laing is her Lord Lieutenant. David sees this post as the eyes, ears, heart and temperature control of the county. This means he needs to know what is good bad and needs fixing, although it is a non-political role, he tells us that he is there to do whatever Her Majesty is not able to do. He is involved in the military on her behalf and holds the equivalent rank of Major General. Many of his duties include visiting schools to support them, helping with the scouts and brownies.

(1.01) Mark examines David Laing’s fascination with cars and racing, and the crash at Silverstone in 2006. David talks about all the various racing cars he either has driven or admired and his more recent experience driving around the world circumference in 69 days with Mary as his navigator. He runs through the various countries they drove over, so we are able to imagine how it must have felt driving 11 hours a day in all those locations.

BEST MOMENTS

• David Laing tells us that “timing is always the most important thing in the business”
• David Laing’s knowledge of changes in government gives us a sound grounding for preparing how to deal with the future.
• David and Mark look at the impact of homelessness on cities and how it can be approached going forward.
• Mark asks David about the difficulties in obtaining finance in the past and how it compares with today’s financing
• Building the M1 had an advantage for David Laing he had just started courting his wife up in Leicester and it meant they didn’t have to drive up the A5 and A6 anymore!

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Mark Homer is an entrepreneur investor.  He has worked with investment since he was 15 years old using the laws of wealth! He is a spreadsheet analyst with an impressive following from major publications including BBC Radio, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, as well as co-authoring the UK’s best selling property books.  Mark has always looked for the best investment vehicle,  and at the end of 2007 with Rob Moore  the co-founder of Progressive Property  his joint portfolio produced more profit than any of his other investments he’d tried in the last ten years, combined.

CONTACT THE HOST

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive

ABOUT THE GUEST

The Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire. David Laing is a man of principle who has worked hard through his life in the construction industry through architecture design and construction, and appears to have enjoyed all the good and disagreeable parts of his career. Mr Laing gives time and money to charitable trusts, and has enjoyed exciting hobbies such as racing.  He has been rewarded by his position as Her Majesty’s representative as Lord Lieutenant of Northampton -shire.  He has an impressive family history behind him with his Grandfather and Grandfathers’ father starting the business in 1845 all of whom did vital work through the 1st and 2nd world wars.  

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