Healthy profits, growth and diversity resulted in Sir Peter Rigby’s Rigby Group picking up the 2013 Family Business of the Year award in the PwC-sponsored Private Business Awards.

The award recognised the performance of the business which saw the Birmingham-based Specialist Computer Holdings division post record profits.

Judges also praised the group’s diversity following the expansion of the group’s aviation interests with the acquisition of Exeter Airport and British International Helicopters.

Specialist Computer Holdings had the best year in its 38-year history. Europe’s largest privately-owned technology group saw impressive growth for the year to March, 2013.

Pre-tax profits at the group hit £108.8 million, up from £29.4 million the previous year, growth in all territories across Europe. More than £130 million net profit was realised from the £222.1 million disposal of technology distribution business SDG in November 2012, although the disposal added costs at the operating level.

Net assets of the group jumped from £167 million to £283.6 million following recent acquisitions.

In May last year, Sir Peter’s Patriot Aerospace acquired British International Helicopter Services, making it the UK’s largest domestically-owned helicopter operator.

The combined businesses operate a fleet of 25 helicopters and employ more than 100 people. Following the acquisition the group re-organised its Coventry-based aviation division, unifying all helicopter operations under the British International Helicopter Services brand.

Patriot also bought a 60 per cent stake in Exeter Airport from construction firm Balfour Beatty. The remaining stake in the airport is held by Galazy, a specialist fund backed by French and Italian investors and the European Commission.

These acquisitions have gradually shifted the Rigby Group from being a technology-led business to a company with a more diverse portfolio of activities.

Sir Peter, who is chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), is championing the Coventry and Warwickshire Development Partnership’s ambitious plans for the Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway – a £250 million development which could provide more than 12,000 jobs for the region.

The scheme includes a new technology hub on land north of Coventry Airport, and a manufacturing and logistics hub to the south. The scheme was given planning consent last June and has been referred to local government secretary Eric Pickles.

The project also includes road improvements to remove longstanding traffic logjams, improving the Tollbar junction and making access to the Whitley Business Park easier.

Aviation enthusiast Sir Peter bailed out Coventry Airport in 2010 and has ambitious plans for it. His aviation group, Patriot Aerospace, bought the airport and gave it the promise of becoming a vibrant hub once again.

Before Sir Peter Rigby acquired it, the airport had been closed for months after the previous owner was wound up with spiralling debts.

Sir Peter also has a luxury hotel chain which includes Brockencote Hall in Worcestershire.

The Victorian mansion at Chaddesley Corbett near Kidderminster became the fifth hotel in Sir Peter’s Eden Hotel Collection which also includes the Michelin-starred Mallory Court Hotel near Leamington, the upmarket and exclusive Kings Hotel in Chipping Campden, the Arden Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon and Buckland Tout-Saints in Kingsbridge, Devon.

Liverpool-born Sir Peter, aged 70, founded SCH in 1975 with just £2,000 in cash. Sir Peter’s sons James and Steven are both senior directors, with James running the firm’s high-performing UK division and Steven the chief operating officer of the Rigby Group.

A qualified fixed wing and helicopter pilot, Sir Peter’s aviation group is based in Gloucester and Cranfield. As well as Coventry and Exeter airports, it operates flying schools, charter operations and helicopter maintenance, indulging Sir Peter’s passion for all mechanical things that fly. He also holds Cessna and Schweizer distributorships.

SCH provides European blue chip companies and government organisations, including HM Revenue and Customs, BAE Systems, Heinz, Fiat and DaimlerChrysler, with desktop services, computer networks and products. It is a successful organisation, with more than 80 offices in cities across Europe.

Sir Peter devotes much of his time and money to charity. The Rigby Foundation Charitable Trust supports child related causes and children’s hospices. It also donates to charities for the aged, either with cash support or by providing IT equipment, training and expertise.

Sir Peter was knighted in the Queens Jubilee Honours for his contribution to information technology and business.