Businessman and philanthropist Sir Trevor Chinn tells us in a rare interview that his experience in Israel will help him revive London’s deprived boroughs
When Mayor of London Boris Johnson was contemplating who would be the best man to head up his new committee aimed at tackling London’s social problems, you might not have expected a major Labour supporter to be top of his wish-list. But then Sir Trevor Chinn, a serial philanthropist and multi-millionaire businessman, has a lot to offer.
Sir Trevor, 72, the former chair of the RAC, has officially taken up the reins as chair of the Mayor’s Fund for London, which taps private wealth to help tackle London’s social problems. He plans to use his experience gained working in deprived areas of Israel to help transform London.
This week, Sir Trevor, who rarely gives press interviews, decided to speak about his new challenge. “Because it’s too important not to,” he says.
So what makes him the right man for the job? Well, he has done it all before — albeit on a smaller scale. As former chairman of the Joint Israel Appeal — now UJIA — he was instrumental in its project to renew and rebuild the Israeli city of Ashkelon over a 10-year period during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“At that time, Ashkelon was the worst city in Israel. We first went there in 1978, and it was appalling. But we changed that town. We did it with people as much as with money. There was a professional team in Israel and many lay leaders and volunteers were involved.
“The first time we went to the area, there were lots of dirty apartment blocks. The open area was unattended and covered in litter. A few years later when we went back, the apartment blocks were spotless and the open areas in the middle has been planted — grass, flower beds and no litter anywhere.”
He says the process of renewal was partly through physical projects financed by donors. There were also large numbers of volunteers from Britain who spent time in Ashkelon, and local residents also got involved in leading their own programme of renewal.
“When we went there, people thought the public space belonged to nobody. When we left, people though the public space belonged to everybody.
“We empowered people to help themselves, and in my opinion, that’s the issue. I think these deprived boroughs have lost their sense of community. Communities aren’t tens of thousands of people. Communities are a few hundred people. I think it’s very important to empower people to help themselves.
“We have to change peoples’ expectations.” He notes: “I have been through this sort of experience before, and so far — because I recount that story from time to time — no one has said to me that London is different. Wherever you are, people are people.”
So when Sir Trevor, the former chair of the RAC and the AA, got the call from Mayor Johnson, it was an opportunity he could not pass up.
“For me this started in 1995, when the Evening Standard published a series of articles about the deprivation in the boroughs in the East End. The editor at the time was Stewart Steven — a close friend of mine, who died prematurely. It just struck me as horrific that these conditions should prevail.
“When Boris Johnson approached me about being a trustee, it reminded me of this. I thought: At last, someone is giving me an opportunity to do something about this.” He points out that out of the six most deprived boroughs in Britain, four are in London. “Child poverty in London has increased. We have indicators of homelessness, overcrowding — it’s too terrible. And I really believe that Boris Johnson intends to do something about it. I am thrilled that he has asked me to chair it.”
Other confirmed trustees of the fund are hedge-fund manager Stanley Fink, the outgoing deputy chairman of Man Group; Lesley King-Lewis, joint chief executive of substance-abuse charity Action on Addiction; fundraiser Wasfi Kani; and Sir John Beckwith, who established property company London and Edinburgh Trust PLC. A further eight trustees are to be selected, in addition to an advisory board.
Sir Trevor, who by his own admission had a comfortable upbringing, says he has always felt a duty to give something back. “My father [the late Rosser Chinn] was born in a mining village in South Wales — very poor. He moved to Hackney in his early teens and he fought his way up in the world and always reminded me of one’s obligations to help those less fortunate. I am very conscious of his life experience.”
He says: “I have always felt a responsibility to give something back. I had a wonderful example in my own father — himself a leader in the community. It’s very important that we look after Jewish causes, but it’s equally important that as Jews we are involved in general causes, and I have been in my life.”
Ranked 14th in the JC’s Power 100 list of the most influential Jews, Sir Trevor is president of UJIA and a Jewish Leadership Council member, and he set up the Israel Britain Business Council. Last night, he received the Israel Sieff award at the British-Israel Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. He has also been involved in the political lobby for Israel for the past 25 years.
Outside of the community, he was Chief Barker for the Variety Club of Great Britain for two successive terms, chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards scheme and vice-chair of the Wishing Well Appeal for Great Ormond Street, for which he was knighted in 1990. He cites this as his greatest philanthropic achievement. “Leading the fundraising campaign for the Wishing Well Appeal was a real privilege. It raised more than the target in a year under the timetable.”
Today, he is a senior adviser to private-equity company CVC Capital Partners, a non-executive chairman of car-club Streetcar, and chair of Vigilant, an AIM-listed Israeli technology company.
He acknowledges that the Mayor’s Fund will take up a lot of his time — at least two days a week — but insists he will not move away from his responsibilities to Israel, something he is particularly passionate about.
No plans to slow down then? “No, I hope not. If anything, this will make me speed up.”
Sir Trevor, who lives in Knightsbridge, will continue to work from his West London offices, which overlook Hyde Park. First on the agenda, he says, is better to understand the deprivation and identify ways to improve the situation.
“Kids don’t resort to crime for no reason. It has to be something to do with their background and we have to understand how we can make a difference. I believe we will have no problem in raising the money once we understand this.” The grandfather-of-four plans to go into the inner-city areas to help him do so.
Does he intend to call upon his contacts in the Jewish community? “I assume they won’t get left out. As Jews give disproportionately to charitable activities in this country, I hope they will give disproportionately to this.”
Snapshot
Age
72
Family
Lives in Knightsbridge with his wife, Susan, with whom he has two sons — David, 41, a partner at McKinsey management consultancy in Israel; and Simon, 39, a TV and film producer
Charity commitments
Sir Trevor is president of UJIA, a Bicom member, founder of the British Israel Business Council and former president of Norwood. He has been a chief barker of the Variety Club of Great Britain, chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards scheme and vice-chair of the Wishing Well Appeal for Great Ormond Street and deputy chair of the Royal Academy Trust. In 1990, he was knighted for his services to Great Ormond Street hospital.
Business career
In 1968, he became managing director of his father’s business, Lex Garages. In 1999, Lex acquired RAC’s motoring services arm. He retired as chairman in 2003 and is now senior adviser to CVC Capital Partners, and chairman of five companies — ITIS Holdings, Aurora Russia Ltd, Streetcar and Vigilant