Jan
2009
Articles from 19th Jan 2009
-
43. (39) Shiraz Tejani £100m (£105m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Shiraz Tejani’s LPC Group is going full circle. The group – the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of tissue-based products – is looking to invest in the Tejani family’s native Uganda. Read
-
32. (48) Sean Quinn Jnr £190m (£65m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Estimating the personal wealth of Belfry owner Sean Quinn Jnr is not easy. It all depends where you draw the line between his fortune and that of his multi-billionaire Irish business tycoon father Sean Quinn Snr. Our estimate is conservative. Read
-
28. (21) Paul Newey £250m (£240m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Paul Newey’s big break came in 2006 when he sold his Tamworth-based debt consolidation business – Ocean Finance and Mortgages – for a rumoured £200 million. Read
-
18. (17) Graham Whateley £425m (£425m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
The last year has continued to see growth in Graham Whateley’s assets thanks to good performances in his property development firm Castlemore Securities and his other business investments. Read
-
40. (37) Tom Wheatcroft £125m (£125m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
All being well, 2010 will see the first of at least 10 British Formula One Grand Prix races at the Donington Park circuit. Read
-
29. (23) Richard Harpin £230m (£220m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Richard Harpin takes quite a few risks in life, with his taste for hair-raising sports. As well as flying, skiing and waterskiing, he also indulges in heli-skiing. Read
-
41. (29) Andrew Cohen £115m (£150m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Castle Vale-based Betterware has had some tough times recently. In 2006 profits fell sharply from £11.8 million to £593,000 on lower sales of £34 million. In 2007 Andrew Cohen, aged 55, sold his 50 per cent share. Read
-
34. (29) Jim Leavesley and Family £150m (£150m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Most of the Leavesley family wealth comes from property – in particular a hefty stake in Simon Clarke’s St Modwen Group. But Jim Leavesley believes in spreading risk so he has plenty of other interests, including military surplus, salvage and farming. Read
-
26. (22) Sir Paul Smith £260m (£230m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Fashion designer Sir Paul Smith is every bit as well-known in Japan as he is in his native East Midlands. He has more than 200 stores in Japan where it seems they can’t get enough of his distinctive designs. Read
-
35. (31) Keith Bradshaw £135m (£130m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Keith Bradshaw – chairman and 50 per cent owner of the Listers car dealer group – has an ambition to raise a million pounds for disabled athletes. Read
-
35. (31) Alan Jackson £140m (£140m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Alan Jackson founded Birmingham-based Intercity Mobile at exactly the right time. He set up the phone business in 1986, just as the mobile communications explosion was beginning. Read
-
49. (47) Robert Plant £75m (£70m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
The partnership between Black Country rocker and Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and country and bluegrass singer Alison Krauss may have seemed an unlikely pairing. Read
-
48. (44) Woon Wing Yip £80m (£80m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Birmingham Chinese food emperor Woon Wing Yip – the man who founded the biggest Chinese grocery group in the country – was this year awarded an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University. Read
-
47. (-) Esmond Bulmer £85m (-)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Former Tory MP Esmond Bulmer and his family made £84 million when they sold their stake in the family’s Hereford-based cider-making business. Read
-
15. (24) Sir Michael Bishop £480m (£200m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
After months of takeover speculation, Sir Michael Bishop finally sold his share of Castle Donnington-based Bmi to Lufthansa in a pre-Christmas deal. Read
-
21. (-) David Samworth and Family £390m (-)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Back in 1868 a young George Samworth first entered the business world as a member of a consortium of Birmingham pig buyers. Read
-
35. (34) Eric Grove £140m (£135m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Eric Grove’s Catesby Property Group is busy reducing its exposure to the drop in the residential property market. The company successfully divested itself of residential sites in Burton and Southport – getting in just before the downturn. Read
-
50. (48) Fred Pritchard £70m (£65m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
If you could bottle this Staffordshire property developer’s optimism and enthusiasm you’d have an elixir to cure the ills of the credit crunch. Read
-
31. (27) Michael Horton and Family £195m (£165m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
It’s been all change in the boardroom at Horton Estates, with 68-year-old Michael Horton stepping down as chairman after seven years in the post and 44 years as a director. Read
-
20. (-) Steve Morgan £400m (-)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Steve Morgan has big plans for Molineux. The man who bought Wolverhampton Wanderers for just £10 in 2007 wants to see the ground’s capacity increased from its current 28,500 to more than 40,000. Read
-
17. (15) Freddie Linnett £450m (£450m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Errand girl to multi-millionaire Freddie Linnett is a director and leading shareholder in the successful family-owned property company Charles Street Buildings (Leicester). Read
-
43. (40) Charles Clowes £100m (£100m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
This time last year it was rumoured that 68-year-old Charles Clowes was seeking a quiet exit from the property business and had put his Derby-based company up for sale. Read
-
42. (38) Ozzy Osbourne £110m (£110m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Sharon Osbourne, wife of Brummie rocker Ozzy, may have been usurped on the X Factor jury by Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, but that shows no sign of putting a dent in the Osbourne coffers. Read
-
23. (24) Peter Coates £300m (£200m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Life continues to be pretty good for 70-year-old Stoke City owner Peter Coates. Read
-
38. (35) Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan £38m (£35m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
A retail price war among supermarkets and the slowdown in consumer spending is resulting in strong downward pressure on poultry prices. But that hasn’t stopped Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan’s 2 Sisters Food Group from continuing to expand. Read
-
27. (20) Simon Clarke and Family £250m (£275m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Simon Clarke’s regeneration specialists St Modwen has taken a bit of a battering as the construction and property markets turn down. But the company remains optimistic for the longer term. Read
-
30. (24) Sir Euan Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe £200m (£200m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Sir Euan Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe's work in looking after the 1500-acre Calthorpe Estate in Edgbaston has been officially recognised. He has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Birmingham. Read
-
45. (41) Robbie Williams £95m (£98m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
It’s rumoured that Robbie Williams was offered £1.5 million for a 30 minute spot at a Norwegian music festival. To save you working it out – that’s £50,000 a minute. Read
-
45. (42) Constantine Folkes £95m (£85m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
A landmark headquarters building in Studley, Warwickshire is to be transformed after being bought for £2 million by Constantine Folkes’ Black Country-based Folkes Holdings as part of its partnership with Trigram Properties. Read
-
33. (28) Sir Jack Hayward £160m (£160m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Interest in a takeover of the Grand Bahama Port Authority could mean a considerable boost to the fortunes of Wolves life president, 85-year-old Sir Jack Hayward. Read
-
23. (19) John Cutts £300m (£320m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
The sale of Solihull-based property company Parkridge Holdings to US industrial property giant ProLogis netted John Cutts and his family trusts cash and shares worth nearly £300 million. Read
-
22. (-) Jonathan Kendrick £385m (-)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
A mobile phone entertainment business run from a modest office near Wolverhampton has proved successful enough to propel its co-owner Jonathan Kendrick into the top half of our Rich List. Read
-
19. (15) Will Adderley £420m (£450m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Life has been increasingly difficult for homewares chain Dunelm, with declining sales, despite an increase in profits in its last published figures. Read
-
39. (31) Abdul Majid Alimohamed £130m (£140m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
The sale of Abdul Majid Alimohamed’s Yardley-based Europackaging to private equity firm MidOcean Partners is thought to have netted him and his family around £100 million. Read
-
25. (18) Tony Wilkinson and Family £280m (£350m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
Things have been pretty tough in the high street, and this is having an effect on Tony Wilkinson’s famous discount Wilkinson Hardware stores, with a reduction in cash inflow. However, the East Midlands-based firm has a strong balance sheet and is probably worth around £220 million. Read
-
16. (14) Roy Richardson and Family £460m (£460m)
Jan 19 2009 | Rich List Profiles 09
The Richardson’s have been the big guns of Midland property development for many years. Read
