University of Liverpool celebrates opening of transformative new Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise

Founder and Chairman of Rigby Group Sir Peter Rigby has officially opened the Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise at The University of Liverpool, for which he has gifted £1M funding through his Charitable Trust.

The gift presents a significant opportunity to transform enterprise activity at the University, underpinned by a new vision driven by Vice Chancellor Tim Jones and supported by Sir Peter in his role as Honorary President for Enterprise.

The Centre will transform student employability, raising the level of enterprise education and entrepreneurial skills development across the University community and Liverpool City Region with the aim of reaching 50,000 people during its three-year pilot.

At the opening event, Liverpool-born Sir Peter took part in an in-depth discussion with ITV’s Ann O’Connor, where he described his life and career, his vision for the Centre, and his reasons for choosing the University of Liverpool as his partner. The event also included tours of the new Centre.

Sir Peter is one of the UK’s most successful and respected entrepreneurs having grown Rigby Group from an initial £2,000 investment into a £4BN multinational business.

He commented, “Next year I celebrate 50 years of accelerating digital inclusion and innovation through various business interests and philanthropic pursuits. I’m honoured to lend my name and funding to The Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise, which is built on this ethos and reflects my personal and professional values around entrepreneurism and lifelong learning.

“The University of Liverpool has a rich history of innovation and academic excellence, and The Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise will help to create more opportunities for commercialisation, innovation, and entrepreneurship, further strengthening the University’s positive impact for its students, academics, and the community.”

Professor Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Liverpool said: “We are incredibly grateful to Sir Peter for his generous gift to the University – and for the time and expertise he so willingly shares with us in his role as our Honorary President for Enterprise. It is greatly appreciated.

“We are in no doubt that the new Sir Peter Rigby Centre for Enterprise will be transformative.“I am passionate about the role that entrepreneurship can and must play here at the University of Liverpool – for the benefit of our students and staff as well as for the regional and UK economy.”