Ruskin Drives Training Forward With New Mobile Unit Funded By Lombard
Croydon, October 2008 – Ruskin Private Hire, based in Camberwell, London, has launched the first of 18 highly-specialised coaches to provide mobile training to unemployed and low-skilled workers across the South London region, backed by a funding package from Lombard, the asset finance arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
The history behind Ruskin Private Hire is as inspiring as the lives it is now changing. Founder and Chief Executive Roger Lynch grew up in a Southwark council estate and was pursuing a promising athletics career when a major injury left him severely injured for 18 months. He learnt from his experience living as person with a disability, and was motivated to build a dynamic business catering to the needs of the most vulnerable in society.
Ruskin now provides an array of transport options from chauffeured and self-driven cars through to mini-buses, with a focus on making transport easy for those with physical disabilities. Last year, NatWest (part of the RBS group) funded the development of Robust Training, a Southwark-based training centre developed in response to the increasing demand for training from Ruskin’s growing customer base. Ruskin now has contracts with 15 London Local Authorities and several NHS trusts, with many of these staff wanting training as well.
As part of the expansion plan for Robust Training, Roger saw the opportunity for mobile training units to travel across London and other regions of the UK providing on-site training designed to improve disabled transport through changing both practices and attitudes. He turned to Paul Champion, his Relationship Manager at NatWest who put him in touch with Az Dawoojee from Lombard, who provided a specialised funding package to enable the first coach to be purchased and modified.
Roger Lynch, Chief Executive, Ruskin Private Hire, commented:
"We have placed a high importance on training from the beginning, but the need for properly trained workers has been increasing recently, which is why we established Robust Training last year. As well as the physical centre in Southwark we saw the need to be more mobile and be able to visit sites across the country. We have been supported by NatWest and Lombard in the past and it is great to have such supportive banking partners who understand our business needs precisely and can provide the best financial solutions. My thanks go to Paul and the team for their ongoing advice and assistance."
Paul Champion, Relationship Manager for NatWest in Croydon, commented:
"We have worked alongside Ruskin for several years now, and it has been terrific seeing the business grow so consistently as it continues to provide such a vital service to the community. We were delighted to assist with funding for the first of this mobile fleet, and look forward to the continued growth of this terrific business."
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For further information please contact:
Phil Allan
The Royal Bank of Scotland
Tel: + (0) 7899 062 129
Email: philip.allan@rbs.co.uk
Notes to editors
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group:
The RBS Group is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in over 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers and employing more than 170,000 people. The Group’s brands include RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Citizens and many other "household name" financial services companies.
