A millionaire businessman who tried to make Bradford an international hub for IT manufacture has died, aged 81.

Malaga-born Dr Tony Martinez came to the UK in 1950 to study telecommunications engineering, eventually becoming a fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Radio Engineers.

After working for Marconi, he moved to Bradford to join Radio Rentals, later Thorn Consumer Electronics, where he was chief engineer.

Dr Martinez spent five years working for Texas Instruments before returning to Bradford in 1979 to set up Microvitec on Bolling Road, to produce computer terminals.

After a boardroom split Dr Martinez stood down as executive chairman in 1987 and the following year launched Chase Advanced Technol-ogies in Bingley. It grew to have a turnover of £6.5 million and employ hundreds of staff.

The loss of a major order saw the firm collapse in 2003.

Sandy Needham, chief executive of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, paid tribute to Dr Martinez, saying his pioneering work laid the foundations for such as digital technology group Pace plc at Saltaire.

She said: “His efforts to establish Bradford as a major IT centre were visionary and in the 1990s he was definitely ahead of his time.”

The funeral of Dr Martinez, who lived in Ilkley, will be at Skipton Crematorium on Monday.