Robert Norman Edmiston, Baron Edmiston (born 1946) is a British motor trade entrepreneur and philanthropist based in the West Midlands who has established a number of religious and educational charities, including Christian Vision.
Bob Edmiston became a millionaire through his companies IM Group, a car importer, and IM Properties. In 1974 he was finance director at sports car manufacturer Jensen Motors, and used a £6,000 redundancy payout when the company went bankrupt to set up International Motors, which acquired the UK franchise for Subaru and Isuzu cars. He later branched out into property and vehicle finance. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 178th with an estimated fortune of £300million.[1] IM Group is now managed by his son, Andrew Edmiston.
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Edmiston is an Evangelical Christian[2] and has made large donations to charities which he has established.
In 1988 he founded Christian Vision,[3] a large international evangelical charity, based at Coleshill, Warwickshire, near Birmingham.
Through two other charities he is the sponsor of three secondary schools within the English academy programme — Grace Academy (Coventry)[4] and Grace Academy (Solihull)[5] and more recently Grace Academy Darlaston and is chair of the governors of all three academies.
The academies follow a Christian ethos.[6]
He has also been a backer of the Conservative Party, which he supported with a £2million loan, later converted into a donation.[7]
He was one of the businessmen behind Midlands Industrial Council, a Conservative Party political campaigning organization.[8]
In 2005 The Times reported that he was on a list of proposed new working peers;[9] however, his nomination was overtaken by the "Cash for Peerages" scandal and was blocked by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.[10]
On 19th November 2010 it was announced that Edmiston is to be created a Life Peer. He sits as a Conservative in the House of Lords, [11] with the title Baron Edmiston of Lapworth in the County of Warwickshire.[12]