Prime Minister’s visit to Yellow Rail’s Derby site highlights the importance of regional industry and technical skills
Employees of Yellow Rail met with members of the Cabinet to outline the ongoing commitment of the company to technical education.
The recent visit by the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham MP, to the Litchurch Lane factory in Derby, home to Buckland’s portfolio company Yellow Rail, shone a spotlight on the importance of technical education, apprenticeships and skilled regional employment to the future of British industry.
Yellow Rail relocated to the historic Derby site as part of its development within Buckland Rail, bringing its engineering and overhaul expertise into one of the UK’s most significant centres for rail manufacturing and innovation. During the recent visit, the Prime Minister met around 100 current and former apprentices and graduates at the site. The visit provided the setting for the announcement of new technical education routes and showcased the specialist development being provided to engineers and technicians.
Investing in Britain’s regions
The location reflects a broader characteristic of Buckland’s portfolio: regionally distributed and deeply connected to the places in which they operate.
Yellow Rail is based in Derby, while W.H. Davis designs and manufactures rail wagons at Shirebrook in Nottinghamshire. Quvara Medical is establishing a specialist medical device manufacturing business at the former Becton Dickinson facility in Swindon. Alconex delivers utilities infrastructure across the North, Midlands and other regions, while Welborne Garden Village represents a long-term investment in homes, infrastructure and community creation in Hampshire.
Our portfolio companies operate in different markets, but they share a commitment to building enduring capability. That means investing not only in sites, technology and equipment, but also in the people whose knowledge and practical expertise enable businesses to grow.
Creating technical career pathways
For sectors such as rail, engineering, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure, sustainable growth depends upon employers being able to attract, train and retain skilled people. Apprenticeships and technical education can provide direct routes into rewarding careers, combining recognised learning with experience in real working environments. They can also help businesses protect specialist knowledge, plan for future workforce needs and give employees opportunities to progress over the long term.
The Prime Minister’s recent visit to the Litchurch Lane Works, a site with 150 years of train-building history, highlighted how collaboration between employers, training providers and government can raise the profile of these pathways. It also demonstrated why regional industrial centres matter: they bring together businesses, experienced workers, emerging talent and supply chains with the potential to reinforce one another.
Operations Coordinator, Daisy Iro-Eweka, got a chance to update the PM on Yellow Rail’s commitment to the PM directly, as he was joined by senior Cabinet members Lucy Powell (Secretary of State for Education), Alan Milburn (Chair of the Social Mobility Foundation and former Health Secretary), and Pat McFadden (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions).
Building capability for the long term
Buckland takes a long-term approach to its investments. Across the portfolio, the objective is to support sustainable businesses with the leadership, capability and resilience needed to prosper over time.
The Prime Minister’s visit may have focused on the future of technical education, but it also reflected a wider opportunity for the UK - to connect national ambitions for growth with strong regional employers, skilled workforces and clear career pathways.
Buckland is proud to support businesses that are rooted in their regions and committed to strengthening Britain’s industrial and technical capability. By investing patiently in people and places, the Group aims to help create value that extends beyond individual companies and contributes to the resilience of the wider economy.