Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs 2015: The List
Rank | Name | Age | Company | Activity | Region | Wealth (£m) | Latest turnover (£m) | 5-year % In turnover | No. of staff | 5-year % rise in staff | Score |
1 | Simon and Bobby Arora* | 45/43 | B&M | Discount retail | North West | 1,900 | 1,648 | 206 | 19,462 | 203 | 30 |
2= | Nitin Passi | 32 | Missguided | Online fashion | North West | 133 | 87 | 866 | 210 | 2,233 | 33 |
2= | Denise and John Coates* | 48/45 | Bet365 | Online gaming | West Mids | 2,350 | 1,371 | 226 | 3,138 | 139 | 33 |
4 | Peter Kelly | 58 | Softcat | Software | South East | 260 | 505 | 246 | 602 | 181 | 43 |
5 | Philip Day | 50 | Edinburgh Woollen Mill | Retail | North West | 750 | 552 | 186 | 10,290 | 148 | 45 |
6 | Jason Bannister | 44 | Oak Furniture Land | Furniture retail | South West | 90 | 191 | 635 | 880 | 679 | 50 |
7 | Gareth Williams | 46 | Skyscanner | Online travel |
Scot | 80 | 93 | 933 | 492 | 693 | 54 |
8 | Chris Dawson | 63 | The Range | Discount retail | South West | 1,650 | 814 | 174 | 9,000 | 116 | 58 |
9 | Jonathan Ruffer | 64 | Ruffer Investment Management | Wealth management | South East | 400 | 160 | 171 | 145 | 134 | 59 |
10 | Tony Pidgley | 68 | Berkeley Group | Housebuilding | South East | 270 | 2,120 | 185 | 2,178 | 133 | 61 |
11 | Maurice Critchley | 67 | Severn Glocon | Industry | South West | 112 | 115 | 211 | 944 | 136 | 66 |
12 | Alex Chesterman | 45 | Zoopla | Online property | South East | 70 | 80 | 900 | 217 | 268 | 70 |
13 | Tom Morris | 61 | Home Bargains | Discount retail | North West | 2,250 | 1,277 | 116 | 11,098 | 130 | 73 |
14 | Steve Timoney | 50 | Smart Metering Systems | Utility services | Scot | 60 | 42 | 250 | 247 | 606 | 77 |
15 | Thomas Taziker* | 69 | TI Industrial Group | Business services | North West | 60 | 54 | 286 | 525 | 436 | 78 |
16 | Steve Parkin | 54 | Clipper Logistics | Logistics | Yorks | 188 | 235 | 183 | 2,964 | 98 | 80 |
17 | Ted Fort | 78 | Fort Vale | Engineering | North West | 150 | 77 | 250 | 497 | 81 | 84 |
18 | Lawrence Jones | 47 | UKFast | Internet | North West | 247 | 29 | 142 | 200 | 100 | 88 |
19= | Graeme and Yvonne Brooks | 61/60 | Avtrade | Aircraft parts | South East | 90 | 75 | 134 | 167 | 209 | 90 |
20 | Brian Conlon | 49 | First Derivatives | Financial software | N. Ireland | 113 | 83 | 124 | 999 | 120 | 96 |
21= | Phil Dudderidge | 66 | Focusrite | Recording equipment | South East | 85 | 41 | 193 | 111 | 105 | 98 |
21= | James Neville* | 48 | Volac | Nutritional products | South East | 102 | 197 | 190 | 382 | 91 | 98 |
23 | Stephen and Paul Harrison | 46/48 | Harron Homes | Housebuilding | Yorks | 101 | 75 | 188 | 105 | 91 | 100 |
24 | Alex Pusco | 50 | ActivTrades | Financial brokerage | South East | 60 | 21 | 162 | 1 42 | 306 | 101 |
25 | Nick Grey* | 47 | Grey Technology (Gtech) | Electrical appliances |
West Mids | 50 | 48 | 586 | 65 | 141 | 102 |
26= | Neil Smith | 47 | Comex 2000 | Telecoms | East Mids | 60 | 21 | 162 | 423 | 250 | 103 |
26= | Dr Jonathan Milner | 50 | Abcam | Biotech | East Anglia | 165 | 144 | 73 | 820 | 176 | 103 |
28= | Andrew Vincent | 59 | BJSS | Software | Yorks | 80 | 50 | 138 | 321 | 133 | 109 |
28= | Julian Dunkerton | 50 | SuperGroup | Fashion | South West | 365 | 487 | 105 | 2,352 | 84 | 109 |
30= | Ian and Nicola Warhurst | 46/47 | Melett | Industry | Yorks | 74 | 23 | 109 | 110 | 307 | 110 |
30= | Chrissie Rucker and Nick Wheeler | 46/50 | The White Company/Charles Tyrwhitt | Retail/Fashion | South East | 330 | 289 | 105 | 1,813 | 84 | 110 |
32 | Robin and June MacGeachy | 51/56 | Peak Scientific | Industry | Scot | 60 | 34 | 161 | 271 | 176 | 111 |
33 = | Geoffrey Mortimer | 62 | Construction Marine | Civil engineering | Yorkshire | 60 | 32 | 191 | 133 | 108 | 116 |
33= | Tony Langley | 60 | Langley Group | Engineering | East Mids | 1,097 | 605 | 77 | 4,093 | 84 | 116 |
35 | Seamus and Daniella Shields | 47/47 | Advance Construction | Construction | Scot | 35 | 86 | 218 | 682 | 220 | 117 |
36 | Ray Kelvin | 59 | Ted Baker | Fashion | South East | 530 | 388 | 106 | 2,804 | 65 | 120 |
37 | Tim Martin | 60 | JD Wetherspoon | Pubs | South East | 262 | 1,405 | 41 | 32,635 | 173 | 124 |
38= | Patrick Flannery* | 65 | P Flannery Plant Hire | Plant hire | South East | 48 | 36 | 125 | 101 | 461 | 125 |
38= | Phil Cronin | 51 | Tombola | Online gaming | North East | 125 | 44 | 100 | 243 | 91 | 125 |
40 | Derek Hood | 55 | JD Classics | Classic car restoration | South East | 100 | 72 | 200 | 43 | 54 | 127 |
41 | Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh | 47/43 | The Wiskey Exchange | Drinks | South East | 70 | 38 | 123 | 71 | 109 | 131 |
42 | Angus MacSween | 59 | Iomart | Cloud computing, web hosting | Scot | 50 | 66 | 164 | 334 | 109 | 135 |
43 | Andrew Nisbet* | 55 | Nisbets | Catering equipment | South West | 440 | 227 | 53 | 1,049 | 88 | 136 |
44= | Jeff and Jonathon Batson | 51/51 | Ralawise | Leisurewear | Wales | 70 | 90 | 105 | 399 | 112 | 139 |
44= | Ernie and Dr Karen Graham* | 54/53 | Graham Care | Care homes | South East | 80 | 23 | 109 | 581 | 92 | 139 |
44= | Sir James Dyson | 68 | Dyson | Electrical appliances | South West | 3,800 | 1,380 | 56 | 4,545 | 66 | 139 |
44= | Philip Meeson | 68 | Dart Group | Aviation | Yorks | 280 | 1,253 | 131 | 4,894 | 37 | 139 |
48 | Dame Margaret Barbour* | 75 | J Barbour & Sons | Fashion | North East | 165 | 167 | 86 | 989 | 66 | 140 |
49 | Rajbir Singh Manak | 49 | Akaal Group | Construction | South East | 90 | 89 | 117 | 203 | 73 | 142 |
50= | Tim and Tom O’Connor | 55/54 | O’Connor Utilities | Utility maintenance | North West | 45 | 65 | 183 | 95 | 98 | 143 |
50= | Dale Vince | 54 | Ecotricity | Green energy | South West | 105 | 70 | 89 | 295 | 81 | 143 |
52 | Sir David McMurtry | 75 | Renishaw | Precision instruments | South West | 620 | 485 | 68 | 3,811 | 60 | 145 |
53 | Jeffrey Pears | 59 | JG Pears | Animal waste processing | Yorks | 85 | 56 | 60 | 200 | 120 | 150 |
54 | Kuljinder Bahia | 42 | Southall Travel | Leisure | South East | 330 | 402 | 65 | 44 | 63 | 151 |
55= | Richard and Sara Mancey | 54/54 | Paultons Park | Leisure | South East | 50 | 22 | 175 | 447 | 80 | 153 |
55= | Charles Wigoder | 55 | Telecom Plus | Telecom/energy services | South East | 155 | 729 | 74 | 793 | 65 | 153 |
57 | Peter McNeil* | 61 | Westbridge Food Group | Food production | West Mids | 55 | 366 | 120 | 156 | 95 | 154 |
58 | Martin and Adrian Lake* | 52 | Pro-Direct | Online retail | South West | 68 | 55 | 120 | 216 | 77 | 158 |
59 | James Hook* | 59 | PD Hook | Poultry and eggs | South East | 140 | 148 | 63 | 709 | 69 | 161 |
60 | David Newman | 54 | Ridgeway Garages | Car sales | Yorks | 110 | 648 | 110 | 1,138 | 46 | 162 |
61= | Andy Bell | 49 | AJ Bell | Financial services | North West | 145 | 53 | 51 | 548 | 73 | 164 |
61= | Tim Steiner | 45 | Ocado | Online food retail | South East | 98 | 949 | 84 | 7,005 | 65 | 164 |
63= | Hugh and Anne McWilliams | 58/58 | H&A Mechanical Services | Property maintenance | N.Ireland | 40 | 29 | 71 | 334 | 185 | 169 |
63= | Martin Thatcher* | 47 | Thatchers Cider | Drinks | South West | 75 | 60 | 161 | 123 | 45 | 169 |
65 |
Jake Shafran |
63 | Jato Dynamics | Automotive intelligence | South East | 100 | 57 | 39 | 587 | 93 | 170 |
66 | Afzal and Akmal Khushi | 60/59 | Trespass | Fashion | Scot | 80 | 86 | 62 | 1,378 | 85 | 172 |
67 | Barry and Frances Dodd | 68/69 | GSM Group | Industry | Yorks | 65 | 36 | 140 | 368 | 51 | 173 |
68 | Paul and Thomas Barber* | 72/72 | AJ & RG Barber | Dairy | South West | 83 | 87 | 85 | 237 | 58 | 178 |
69 | Sandy Chadha | 47 | Supreme Imports | Distribution | North West | 30 | 45 | 96 | 77 | 114 | 180 |
70 | Andrew Redmayne* | 57 | NRL | Recruitment | North West | 45 | 173 | 140 | 128 | 60 | 183 |
71 | Peter Cooper | 62 | Seetec | Computer training | South East | 52 | 70 | 84 | 974 | 80 | 187 |
72 | Joe Hemani | 65 | Westcoast | Computers | South East | 110 | 1,467 | 54 | 1,126 | 52 | 188 |
73 | David Wernick* | 58 | Wernick Group | Construction | South East | 110 | 93 | 66 | 599 | 36 | 193 |
74 | Bryan Glastonbury* | 62 | Integral | Maintenance services | South West |
90 | 310 | 74 | 3,398 | 28 | 197 |
75 | Jeremy Pilkington* | 64 | Vp | Plant hire | Yorks | 160 | 206 | 46 | 1,726 | 23 | 201 |
76 | Nigel Spokes* | 54 | Scot Group Southern (Thrifty Car Rental) | Car hire | South West | 270 | 102 | 38 | 1,100 | 12 | 203 |
77 | John Hays | 66 | Hays Travel | Travel | North East | 35 | 253 | 124 | 922 | 54 | 204 |
78 | John Mills* | 77 | Midland Software | Software | West Mids | 35 | 39 | 56 | 506 | 103 | 206 |
79 | John and Darren Donnelly | 67/45 | Retlan Manufacturing | Industry | N. Ireland | 55 | 131 | 90 | 665 | 48 | 209 |
80= | Iain Burgess* | 43 | BVG Airflo | Distribution | Wales | 50 | 68 | 70 | 302 | 59 | 215 |
80= | George Materna | 62 | Matchtech | Recruitment | South East | 52 | 452 | 71 | 426 | 54 | 215 |
82 | James Murray | 45 | Alternative Networks | Telecoms | South East | 74 | 138 | 44 | 616 | 49 | 220 |
83 | Cathie Paver* | 87 | Pavers | Shoes | Yorks | 75 | 71 | 42 | 1,070 | 48 | 223 |
84 | Brian and Carole Brown | 69/69 | Chester Hall Precision Engineering | Industry | South East | 45 | 20 | 82 | 85 | 49 | 224 |
85= | Philip Setter | 52 | Whitehouse Leisure | Soft toys | South East | 40 | 43 | 72 | 42 | 56 | 226 |
85= | Suzanne Marshall-Forsyth | 51 | Phoenix Software | Software | Yorks | 85 | 92 | 44 | 136 | 22 | 226 |
87= | David Beddow | 67 | Border Holdings | Car parts | West Mids |
65 | 65 | 48 | 257 | 47 | 229 |
87= | Geoffrey Turnbull* | 69 | GT Group | Industry | North East | 50 | 37 | 95 | 257 | 11 | 229 |
89 | Christopher Duncan | 76 | Numatic | Vacuum cleaners | South West | 103 | 129 | 23 | 907 | 8 | 234 |
90 | Stan Archer and Ed Sheader** | 79/68 | Deep Sea Electronics | Industry | Yorks | 68 | 34 | 26 | 150 | 50 | 237 |
91 | Dame Vivienne Westwood |
74 | Vivienne Westwood | Fashion | South East |
50 | 32 | 33 | 252 | 57 | 240 |
92 | Kevin and Dermot Clancy | 65/63 | The Clancy Group | Construction | South East | 60 | 281 | 37 | 2,233 | 39 | 244 |
93 | Bipin and Piyoosh Chotai | 68/65 | Waremoss | Pharmacy | South East | 35 | 61 | 27 | 611 | 72 | 247 |
94= | Jatti and Avneet Sahni | 49/44 | VIP Computers | Computers | North West | 30 | 227 | 27 | 264 | 71 | 250 |
94= | Adrian Dickens* | 53 | Adder Technology | Computers | East Anglia | 40 | 19 | 58 | 110 | 43 | 250 |
96 | Jim Byrne | 67 | VA Technology | Robotics | West Mids | 40 | 13 | 44 | 75 | 25 | 264 |
97= | Graham Baker | 63 | FW Baker | Pet food | West Mids | 36 | 87 | 21 | 302 | 34 | 282 |
97= | Sarah Tremellen* | 49 | Bravissimo | Lingerie | West Mids | 45 | 54 | 23 | 685 | 5 | 282 |
99 | George Jackson* | 69 | Jackson Lift Services | Maintenance | South East | 27 | 45 | 29 | 393 | 25 | 284 |
100 | Richard Tang | 49 | Zen Internet | Web services | North West | 25 | 51 | 27 | 437 | 18 | 290 |
Methodology
The Management Today Top 100 Entrepreneurs are ranked by three criteria:
1 They are ranked by their own or their immediate family asset wealth, which we identify from their holdings in private or public companies, share sales, dividends, salaries plus any other assets that they have revealed to us.
2 They are ranked on the percentage growth in turnover over the last five years (or less if figures do not go back five years). We rank them on the percentage growth rather than the actual growth as this allows a level playing field for large and small companies. We do not measure profits growth as private and public companies have very different approaches to declaring profits. Public companies try to maximise their profits to please shareholders, while private companies often keep their profits low to minimise tax liabilities. That said, we do keep a careful eye on profits and avoid companies that may be building turnover at the expense of profits.
3 As with 2 , we rank them on the percentage growth in the jobs they have created in the past five years. This is designed to highlight our Top 100 entrepreneurs’ hugely important role as the leading job creators in the private sector.
Finally we add up the figures for their rankings in the wealth, turnover and employment columns. The lowest score (which could theoretically be 3 for first in all three) is the winner and so on down to the 100th person on the list. We have selected the 100 using a variety of criteria: trying to get a good geographic spread, finding women entrepreneurs (still sadly few in number), those who are making good profits (without which the business would not survive) and avoiding those where there are any warnings of deteriorating performance. Where a family owns a company, we have given the name of the lead family member – the entrepreneur – who has built up the business.
* Includes family stake
** Joint founders of business
*** Total score is the sum of rankings for wealth, five-year percentage rise in turnover and five-year percentage rise in employment. The lower, the better.
All figures for turnover and employee numbers are drawn from accounts filed at Companies House by the end of September 2015 .