Sir William James Lithgow, 2nd Baronet is a Scottish industrialist and vice-chairman of Lithgow Group. In 1952 he inherited the Scottish shipbuilding company, Lithgows, which was established by his grandfather, William Lithgow. At the time, it was the largest private shipbuilding concern in the world. Economic and political changes, especially the nationalisation of British shipbuilding in the 1970s, prevented Sir William from simply continuing the family business, and he therefore led it in new directions, including engineering, salmon farming and other marine and agricultural matters. He describes himself as an "industrialist and farmer". Since 1999 his son James has been chairman of the Lithgow Group, with Sir William as vice-chairman.
In the 1960s British shipbuilding was facing serious competition from the Far East, as well as other challenges. In the late 1960s a government enquiry into the UKshipbuilding industry led to a merger between Lithgows Ltd. and Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd. of Greenock. This became Scott Lithgow Ltd. in 1970, but in 1977 the government nationalised the company under the control of the British Shipbuilders Corporation by the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977. Sir William and others involved challenged the amount of compensation they were offered and ended up taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights. The press reported his views about the wider implications of his experience, which he related to the Thatcher government's privatisation policies, and the forthcoming expiry of the British lease on Hong Kong. When he finally lost his legal battle in 1986 he told The Times that his claim had started as a "squalid argument about money" but had come to be about "fundamental property rights which are part of the basis of the free world". On other occasions he has expressed strong views publicly on subjects ranging from the importance of wealth creation to weaknesses in ferry services to the Scottish islands.
After nationalisation
Meanwhile, Lithgows was diversifying. In 1980 they moved into salmon farming through their subsidiary Landcatch. Their Campbeltown boatyard producing fishing vessels closed in 1997, but they still build fishing boats at Buckie in Moray. Engineering interests include firms producing off-road vehicles and rifles. Many of the conglomerate's interests are related to rural and coastal life, not least their land management and agricultural activities on the Ormsary estate and on the nearby Isle of Jura. Sir William says his hobbies are "rural life, invention and photography". The many public bodies on which he has served include some connected with shipbuilding and agriculture, and he also has links with Strathclyde University which made him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1979. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers. In 1999, Sir William passed on the chairmanship to his son James, around the time of his 65th birthday. At the time, the press reported his belief that many of British shipbuilding's problems in the 1960s and 1970s could be attributed to government policies stemming from the Treasury. He had apparently "seriously considered relocating to Australia". As of 2006, he has an address in Western Australia, but Ormsary is his home as well part of his title as 2nd Baronet of Ormsary. Sir William and the Lithgow Group still have offices at Langbank, close to the house the first William Lithgow moved to in 1883.
