MULTI-MILLIONAIRE business boss Sir Tom Hunter will base his foundation’s Ayrshire HQ at Blair House to boost leadership skills in the build back from Covid.
The Ayrshire entrepreneur and philanthropist now plans to use the estate near Dalry to run residential leadership programmes to help boost the private and public sectors including head teachers, health sector leaders, police and civil servants.
A planning application to change the use of Blair House from houses to residential institutions was approved by North Ayrshire Council with no conditions late last month.
Founder Sir Tom Hunter said: “The Hunter Foundation is funding and delivering a number of leadership programmes for the public and private sectors across Scotland.
“Hence, we wish to acquire Blair Estate to run these residential leadership programmes and are seeking planning consent for a change of use. Access to facilities is critical and with stay at home causing a real shortage of accommodation we really need to make this acquisition to facilitate these programmes.
“These programmes are transformational, working with Head Teachers, the public sector across health, police and local authorities and indeed in supporting entrepreneurs scaling their businesses; all pivotal to Covid recovery and indeed tackling the poverty agenda whilst supporting public sector reform.
“In turn we will continually invest in the fabric of this historic building year in year out, protecting it for the long term. I am very proud to say this will be our Foundation’s home in Ayrshire.”
The Hunter Foundation (THF) describes the organisation as proactive venture philanthropy seeking to invest in determining model solutions, in partnership with others, to troubling systemic issues relating to poverty eradication and educational enablement. To date it has invested in excess of £55m for the common good – with Sir Tom Hunter ‘s Foundation also helping the Kiltwalk by topping up fund-raising amounts by 50 per cent.
This means that any money raised for charities across Scotland at The Kiltwalk in Glasgow were doubled thanks to the generous act benefitting charity efforts across Ayrshire.
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