It’s that time of the year again, the Sunday Times Rich List is out and The Duke of Westminster is the richest person in the Northwest, according to The 2015 List, to be published this Sunday, April 26.
The Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate is headquartered at the family seat, Eaton Hall in Cheshire, but derives most of its value from its 300 acres in west London, centred on Belgravia and Mayfair. The company reported profits of £507m in 2013 on its net assets of £3.45bn. The estate has multiple property developments in the pipeline, mostly in the UK, but with further schemes in Ireland, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. Recent commercial successes include the Liverpool One shopping, residential and leisure complex. The 63-year-old Duke’s overall wealth rises £60m this year to stand at £8.56bn, putting him among the 10 richest nationally.
The Duke of Westminster is one of 15 in the top 20 in the Northwest who have seen rises in their overall wealth in the past 12 months. There are now seven billionaires among the richest in the region.
The biggest year-on-year gain of £350m is recorded by Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora, the three brothers behind the B&M retail chain of discount stores, which was floated on the stock market last year. The brothers sold a 60% stake in the Merseyside-based business in 2012 that valued it at £965m. Following the floating of the business last year, it is worth £2.9bn today. The brothers’ remaining 27% stake in the company is worth £770m and they have raised a further £480m from share sales.
John Whittaker and Tom Morris in second and third place respectively in the Northwest Rich List have also seen significant gains in their wealth in the past year. John Whittaker, 73, whose Peel property group is a major player in the region, sees a £70m gain in his family’s fortune. The firm owns shopping centres, airports – including John Lennon airport in Liverpool – Pinewood Shepperton Studios and Salford’s MediaCity. Liverpool2, a £300m container port which is due to open this year is a joint venture between Peel Group and Deutsche Bank. Whittaker owns 75% of Peel Holdings.
Tom Morris is another discount store billionaire, alongside the Arora brothers. Morris, 61, founded the Home Bargains retail chain 40 years ago. The Liverpool-based firm now has more than 300 shops and in 2013-14 it recorded profits of £124.7m. The business, valued at £2.2bn, is owned solely by Morris and his family. Small property companies and past dividends and salaries carry the family to £2.25bn, up £200m on last year.
A new entry to the region’s exclusive club of billionaires are brothers Fred and Peter Done, the men behind the Betfred bookmaking chain. Fred, 72 and Peter, 68, started out with a single betting shop in Salford in 1967. Today their empire spans bookmaking, insurance, sports promotion, property and a restaurant. The businesses are worth combined about £950m and last year made about £72m profit.
