Sir Ronald Frank Hobson, KCVO (4 January 1921 – 22 April 2017) was a British entrepreneur, business-owner and philanthropist. Hobson was born on 4 January 1921 in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, to a poor family. He served in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and, after being

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...

, noticed the potential for bombed-out plots of land in central London to be used as

car parks A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

."Sir Ronald Hobson"
''The Times'', 31 May 2017. In October 1948, he and

Donald Gosling Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Donald Gosling, (2 March 1929 – 16 September 2019) was an honorary British vice admiral, Chairman of National Car Parks, and benefactor to naval charities. Business career Gosling joined the Royal Navy in 1944 duri ...

(then a trainee surveyor at

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

) secured planning permission to convert a site in

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

into a car park. They each invested £100 and became joint chairmen of Central Car Parks,Randeep Ramesh and Michael Harrison
"Bomb-site likely lads make pounds 580m fortune from sale of car parks"
''The Independent'', 24 March 1998. Retrieved 7 June 2019. charging customers 1 s 6 d a day. At the time, car traffic was low in

, but car-ownership expanded in the post-war period alongside their business; by the late 1950s, they owned more than ten car parks. As ''The Independent'' summarised in 1998: "Whether the two knew that the motor-car would become of the cylinders in society's engine or property prices would go sky high is not clear. What is not difficult to say is that the duo's remarkable rise places them among of the best British business-people of their generation." In 1958, they purchased

National Car Parks National Car Parks (NCP) is a private car park operator, with car parks in towns, cities, airports, London Underground and National Rail stations. History NCP was founded in 1931 by Colonel Frederick Lucas. In October 1948 Sir Ronald Hobson ...

(NCP) and it became their focus. In 1984, they also acquired

Green Flag Green Flag Limited is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used a network of ...

, but the 1980s also witnessed growing competition from Europarks, which culminated in a 1993 court case in which an NCP employee was charged with conspiracy to defraud after allegedly using a security firm to spy on Europarks; the employee was acquitted,David Connett
"Car parks chief is cleared of spying on rival"
''The Independent'', 13 March 1993. Retrieved 7 June 2019. and NCP eventually acquired the company. In 1998, Hobson and Gosling sold NCP (which had over 650 car parks by that time) to

Cendant Cendant Corporation was an American provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, it broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses. Although it was based in New Yo ...

for £801 million; they had owned a 72.5% share of the business. The pair were philanthropists, donating £25 million towards the restoration of HMS ''Victory''. They paid for

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

's birthday celebrations in 2000, and Hobson had been among a group of businessmen who financially supported

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

as opposition leader in the 1970s. He turned down a knighthood in the "Lavender List" in 1976, but accepted appointment as a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

thirty years later. Hobson died on 22 April 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Ronald 1921 births 2017 deaths People from Edmonton, London Businesspeople from the London Borough of Enfield Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order