Michael Uren

Sir John Michael Leal Uren OBE (1 September 1923 – 9 August 2019) was a British businessman. He served as the chairman of Civil & Marine from 1955 to 2006. He donated GBP £40 million to his alma mater, Imperial College London, becoming the most generous benefactor in the College’s history.[1]

Sir Michael Uren
Born
John Michael Leal Uren

(1923-09-01)1 September 1923
Died9 August 2019(2019-08-09) (aged 95)
EducationSherborne School
Alma materImperial College London
Occupation(s)Businessman, philanthropist

Early life

Michael Uren was born on 1 September 1923.[2] He was educated at Sherborne School and Imperial College London, from which he graduated in 1943 with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and Motive Power.[1]

Career

Uren founded Civil & Marine, a manufacturer of ground granulated blast-furnace slag, in 1955.[3] In the 80’s his company developed the technology that allowed them to make high-quality cement from blast-furnace slag, a waste product of the steel industry.[2] Uren and his business partner John Hobbins turned this invention into a profitable business.[2]

He served as its Chairman until he sold it for GBP£245 million in 2006 to the Hanson Group.[4][3]

As of 2015, he was worth an estimated GBP£170 million.[4]

Philanthropy
Sir Michael Uren Building, White City, from north side

Uren served as the chairman of the Royal London Society for the Blind.[3]

Uren donated GBP £30 million to the King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes in 2013.[5] In 2014, he also donated GBP£40 million to his alma mater, Imperial College London,[4][1] to fund the creation of the College's new "Bio-Medical Engineering Research Centre" in White City, London, which he envisioned as becoming a cornerstone for "a new Silicon Valley" of biotechnology.[6]

Honours

Uren was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999[3] and was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for philanthropic services.[7][8]

Death

He died on 9 August 2019 at the age of 95.[2]

References
  1. Evanson, Deborah (10 September 2018). "Sir Michael Uren: 1923 – 2019". Imperial College London. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  2. "Sir Michael Uren obituary". The Sunday Times. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  3. "Company Overview of Civil and Marine (Holdings) Limited: Mike Uren OBE". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  4. "Sunday Times Rich List". The Sunday Times. No. 73. 26 April 2015.
  5. "A gift fit for a Queen". Health Service Journal. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. "Sir Michael Uren, engineer who poured vast sums into charitable projects from a fortune built on recycling steel-industry slag – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 17 September 2019. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  7. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N2.
  8. "New Year's Honours 2016 list" (PDF). GOV.UK. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
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