50 Years
From NCR to wingman.
The order it all happened in. From a seventeen-year-old's first paid week at NCR, to a salute on the dais for the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Britain - business and philanthropy, side by side. Filter to follow one strand at a time.
1965
Business
First job in computing
At 17, joins NCR in Liverpool as a district assistant - passing up a coveted place in the RAF to help support his family - and a career in technology begins almost by accident.
1970
Business
Frankfurt and the world stage
Recruited by the New York consulting firm John Diebold and posted to Frankfurt; at 22, presenting large-scale database-management solutions to audiences across Switzerland and Germany.
1975
Business
Business founded
Sir Peter founds Specialist Computer Group with approximately £2,000, a recruitment company chosen because it needed little capital and could generate the cash to fund what followed.
1983
Business
Midland Computer Company (later SCC)
Becomes the first distributor of IBM's personal-computer technologies in the UK; the recruitment cash-cow turns into a technology bureau, and the bureau into Europe's largest privately owned IT services business.
1985
Business
First European office
Expansion into France marks the beginning of a consistent international growth strategy.
1992
Philanthropy
The Rigby Foundation established
A formal philanthropic vehicle for the family's giving, focused on education, health and community.
1996
Business
Spain and Romania
SCC opens in Madrid and Bucharest, extending the group's European footprint.
1998
Business
Byte sold to PC World
The group's IT retail chain Byte Computer Superstores - sixteen stores and forty-six concessions, turning over £80m - is sold to PC World. Sir Peter's son Steve handles his first major transaction at twenty-six.
2000
Business
Buhrmann European acquisition
Acquires the European technology operations of Buhrmann, establishing a pan-European network spanning France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium and the UK in a single move.
2001
Business
Aviation begins
Acquisition of Coventry Airport marks the group's entry into aviation infrastructure.
2002
Recognition
Knighthood
Knighted for services to information technology and to business in the Midlands.
2007
Business
Norwich Airport
The group adds Norwich Airport to its aviation portfolio.
2007
Philanthropy
RAF Museum - Cold War exhibition
As trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum, leads the development of the Cold War exhibition at RAF Cosford.
2010
Philanthropy
Royal Shakespeare Company
Major support for the RSC's Transforming Our Theatres campaign, restoring the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
2012
Business
SDG sold
The group's B2B technology distribution business SDG - built from scratch to £1.4bn of sales - is sold to the only buyer judged capable of taking it on, for around £220m.
2012
Business
Eden Hotel Collection
Development of a UK boutique hotel group within the wider Rigby portfolio.
2013
Business
Exeter Airport and British International Helicopters
Acquires Exeter International Airport and British International Helicopters. BIH, based in Newquay, holds the MOD's strategic helicopter contract for the South Atlantic, supporting British forces in the Falklands - a sovereign-defence operation now under family ownership.
2014
Business
Sovereign cloud for UK government
Builds the first private, sovereign cloud service for UK government - keeping public-sector data inside British jurisdiction more than a decade before sovereignty becomes a national talking-point.
2015
Philanthropy
Fly Harrier Trust founded
Founder and trustee of the Fly Harrier Trust, dedicated to preserving the Harrier - the iconic British vertical take-off jet - and bringing the aircraft and its history to a new generation.
2017
Business
Bournemouth Airport
Acquires Bournemouth Airport, immediately the largest in the group's regional aviation portfolio. Within seven months, secures Gama Aviation's UK relocation - bringing 150 skilled jobs and taking the site to over 2,000 employees.
2017
Recognition
Hon. Group Captain - 601 Squadron, R.Aux.AF
Appointed to the reformed 601 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, advising senior RAF leadership on business and technology. Now on his fourth tour.
2018
Philanthropy
RAF 100 - celebrations across the airfields
When the RAF marks its centenary in London, Sir Peter offers his four airfields too - four days of air displays at each, touching an estimated 1.5 million people, with hundreds of children sitting in the cockpits of Red Arrows Hawks.
2018
Philanthropy
Birmingham Children's Hospital
Multi-year support for the Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity, including new family services.
2020
Philanthropy
FareShare and the pandemic response
Major support for FareShare's emergency response during the COVID-19 pandemic - getting food to families across the Midlands when the country needed it most.
2021
Business
G7 Summit - Exeter Airport and the Agile Basing Concept
Exeter Airport supports the UK's G7 Summit, housing the US Marine contingent and aircraft. More significantly, the group's airfields stage the introduction of an Agile Basing Concept - deploying air-transport assets (A400, C17, Voyager) from RAF Brize Norton to Rigby Group airfields. An exercise ahead of its time, demonstrating how key transport and tanker assets could be dispersed in the event of war.
2021
Recognition
Légion d'honneur
Awarded the Légion d'honneur in recognition of contributions to Franco-British business and cultural ties.
2022
Philanthropy
Place2Be and youth mental health
Sustained funding for Place2Be's school-based mental-health services, extended to West Midlands schools.
2023
Philanthropy
Sir Peter Rigby Charitable Trust
Sir Peter establishes the Sir Peter Rigby Charitable Trust as a distinct vehicle alongside the Rigby Foundation - directing personal philanthropic commitments to heritage, the arts, naval aviation and the causes closest to his own story.
2024
Philanthropy
Sir Peter Rigby Digital Futures Institute, Aston University
As Honorary Chair, Sir Peter funds the Digital Futures Institute at Aston University - convening researchers, students and industry to explore how technology, artificial intelligence, medicine and gamification will shape life in the years ahead.
2024
Philanthropy
Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise, Liverpool
The Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise is officially opened at the University of Liverpool, funded by a £1m gift from the Charitable Trust. Designed to reach 50,000 students and young people across the city region over its three-year pilot.
2024
Business
Paris Olympics - technology delivery
The group delivers the technology infrastructure for the Paris 2024 Olympics through SCC France, working with the French government.
2024
Philanthropy
Valencia floods - restoring the region
When the DANA floods devastate eastern Spain, the group is first on the scene to restore the data centre of the Valencian regional government and helps families left without homes.
2024
Philanthropy
Navy Wings
Heritage aviation support for Navy Wings, preserving historic naval aircraft for public exhibition.
2025
Business
Regional & City Airports sold
After a decade of stewardship, the group sells Regional & City Airports - Bournemouth, Exeter, Norwich, the Solent management contract and XLR Executive Jet Centres at four UK airports. The aviation chapter closes with the business at its strongest: 1.76 million passengers a year, £14.24m pre-tax profit, and Cargo First a top-ten UK air-freight operator at Bournemouth.
2025
Philanthropy
Sir Peter Rigby Coronation Food Hub
Opens the Sir Peter Rigby Coronation Food Hub in Birmingham - a 23,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility, fully funded by the Charitable Trust and operated by FareShare Midlands. The first fully funded hub in His Majesty King Charles III's Coronation Food Project, delivering 7 million meals a year and training 500 people annually into employment.
2025
Recognition
Battle of Britain - 85th anniversary salute
Sir Peter takes the salute at the national commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, standing as wingman to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth. One of his proudest moments.
2025
Philanthropy
Fifty years; Inspiring Futures
The Rigby Group marks its fiftieth year. The Foundation launches Inspiring Futures, focused on social mobility for disadvantaged young people in the West Midlands.