Let’s face it: we’re a nation of nosey parkers. Most of us Brits would be lying if we said we weren’t interested in how much people earn. Luckily, we have the Sunday Times Rich List to feed our obsession, and last weekend saw 2015’s edition published. Like every year, the list was dominated by prosperous entrepreneurs, and as a B2B PR agency based in the North West, we were keen to see how many in this year’s list began their business journey in our region.
The property mogul behind MediaCityUK, John Whittaker, hit number 43 on the list and is revealed to be worth a whopping £2,370m. Owner of The Peel Group, Whittaker has spent the last four decades acquiring and developing some of the most iconic sites in the North West, from the Manchester Ship Canal to the Trafford Centre.
Success stories have shown that starting a retail business can be a lucrative move, and the North West is no exception. The Morris family who established Home Bargains in Liverpool are positioned at number 46 in the list, worth £2,250m. The founders of Blackpool’s B&M, the Aurora brothers are at number 52 in the list, worth £1,750m. Both of these families have increased in wealth, so clearly our bargain-loving nation has helped these discount retailers trickle their way throughout the UK and go from strength to strength.
The founders of one of the North West’s most treasured brands, Warburtons too have a higher fortune than last year and are placed at number 206 in the list, worth £530m. It’s nice to see that our region is appearing to stay loyal to the famous bread firm.
So the Sunday Times Rich List points to the North West as an ideal place for a business to start on its path to success. As the government invests more money throughout the north under the Northern Powerhouse scheme, maybe more entrepreneurs will feel more encouraged to set up businesses in our region?
Alex Brown has just started his career at Skout PR and will be a regular contributor to the Skout blog.
