IT is a big day for Brian Scowcroft and he is running late. His flagship property development is five years old today and various dignitaries are being flown up to the Cumbrian countryside to celebrate.

But the 48-year-old multi-millionaire and fitness fanatic has had to make a detour in his helicopter to the local hospital after injuring his arm in a climbing accident.

After a two-hour journey and an hour wait in his office, I finally get to meet Scowcroft who, with his arm in a sling, is obviously in some discomfort - which seems only to intensify as the interview begins.

Scowcroft is obviously an extremely publicity-shy individual. It is a trait often associated with rich men who have made millions and now dabble in property - former kitchen magnet David Russell and greeting cards entrepreneur Ron Wood are prime examples.

And it is surprising that Scowcroft agreed to our, albeit brief, meeting.

But Scowcroft has a few great passions in his life and one of those is revitalising his adopted county, Cumbria.

He has ploughed around '7m of his own money into the 400-acre Kingmoor industrial park situated on the outskirts of Carlisle and, with it, helped create more than 1,300 jobs.

It is the flagship in his business park portfolio, which includes sites in Stockport and Leigh, as well as an operation in Wrexham.

The business, which employs eight people and turns over around '4.5m, is a world away from Scowcroft's previous life as boss of Swinton Insurance - the business his father Ken founded in the 1960s and was later gradually sold off to Royal & SunAlliance reputedly for '150m.

Scowcroft joined the family firm as finance director after qualifying as a chartered accountant. It had been a struggle for the young man, married and the father of a baby son at seventeen.

"It was a bit of a shock, especially for my father!" he laughs. "But what was most surprising is that I had my second child at 19 - which was planned.

"I suppose I missed out on the things my peers were doing and it was really hard training to be an accountant with young children. But you can't beat having kids when you're young."

Scowcroft now has five children, two of them with his second wife Catherine. And he is about to become a granddad again, for the fourth time.

After running Swinton with his sister Janet for a number of years, Scowcroft finally quit the firm after selling 75 per cent of it in the early 1990s.

"It took a few years to decide what to go into. In the end I opted to acquire large industrial estates for a number of reasons.

Aggravation

"Firstly, after employing 3,500 workers which involved a great deal of pressure and aggravation, I wanted a business where I didn't need a lot of people.

"Also it is impossible to get finance to buy large industrial sites that are empty, and funding only becomes available when they are let. But, because I already had the capital, I was in a market with not many others so I could get the land cheap."

Scowcroft says only about half of the 570 acres on his four sites are developed and there is scope to double the '4.5m annual rental income over the next five years.

The business parks do seem small fry compared to the giant that was Swinton, but Scowcroft who, while being pleasant company, is not a people sort of person - by his own admission.

He says he likes the fact that the business can grow without having too much impact on headcount.

He also says he loves the peace of his 1,500 acre estate in the Lake District, where he spends his time shooting and collecting cars.

Yet, despite his reported vast fortune, the industrial parks are his only commercial venture. "My business philosophy is kiss - keep it simple stupid - the stupid being me!"

And are you stupid then? He laughs and says: "When Michael Knighton's bid to buy 55 per cent of Manchester United fell through the deal was touted around. I was one of those offered the stake for around '11m and I said, `I don't mix business with pleasure'. Now that was stupid!" he laughs.

Scowcroft's modest nature more than makes up for his obvious discomfort when it come to talking about himself. And those that know him say he is a genuine and very down-to-earth person.

He has also raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for his Kingmoor Charitable Trust which helps, among others, disabled and cancer charities in the area.

In 2002 he was in a five-man team that scaled Britain and Ireland's five highest peaks in just under 20 hours, breaking the Guinness world record. Around '50,000 was raised for charity. His charity work is inspired by the "desire to give something back to community" as well his son's long fight against a rare form of cancer.

Scowcroft says that for him, life is all about seeking out achievements that he can fulfil. "I was born is a small house in Salford and still remember getting into the tin bath.

"By the time I was ten there was a big change in family life when my father's business took off. I believe that in life you have to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. The trick is to find them. And I've found one or two." And Manchester United? He laughs, "Well I've missed a few too as well!"

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