Lord Hurd visits Birmingham

Life under three Prime Ministers was the hot topic for discussion last week, as the Rt Hon Lord Hurd of Westwell visited to Birmingham to meet with some of the region’s top local entrepreneurs.

Lord Hurd hosted a dinner for clients of Coutts & Co, in his capacity as deputy chairman of the private bank. He spoke at length of his experiences in high office, working under Ted Heath, Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He also reflected that he had spent the last two years studying the life of another, more local political leader, Victorian Prime Minister Sir John Peel, whose home was in Drayton Manor in Tamworth.

He was joined by Tom Ingham-Clark, senior manager of Coutts’ in Birmingham and Anne Brookes, senior private banker. Regional chairmen Paul Bassi and Richard Boot also joined guests at the event.

The visit followed the success of a series of lunches hosted in by Lord Hurd at Coutts regional offices throughout the UK.

Commenting on his most recent visit, Lord Hurd said: “I always look forward to my visits to Birmingham and am delighted to have returned in my capacity as Deputy Chairman of Coutts & Co. I very much enjoyed meeting with the clients and being able to give them a real insight into life behind the door of Number 10.”

Anne Brookes, senior private banker added; “We were delighted to welcome Lord Hurd to Birmingham. These events have proved to be very popular with our clients and particularly his anecdotes of his time as home secretary under Margaret Thatcher gave a candid insight into the role.”

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For further media information on Coutts contact:

Claire Symonds, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co on 0207 957 2650 or mobile 07970 001149 or e-mail claire.symonds@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

  • Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.
  • Coutts manages the wealth of 96,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of 40 offices globally.
  • The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. The most recent new opening was Liverpool at the end of 2003. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Tunbridge Wells & Winchester.
  • Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.
  • Coutts for three years running, (2003-2005) was awarded ‘Best Use of Long-Only Multi-Manager Structures’ at the Private Asset Management Awards
  • This year Coutts & Co was named the UK’s Best Private Bank by Euromoney magazine
  • Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Coutts & Co Registered in England No 36695Registered Office 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS
  • Calls may be recorded

www.coutts.com