Striking it rich
The Sunday Times' annual Rich List shows mixed fortunes for industry figures. Mark Stretton takes a look.
The annual list of Britain's wealthiest folk published by The Sunday Times newspaper showed mixed fortunes for the industry's league of entrepreneurs.
Standing out from the rest is pub tycoon Tim Martin who last year saw the fortune he has amassed dwindle through a shrinking Wetherspoon share price.
Most of Mr Martin's wealth is on JDW paper and a profits warning late last year plus general high street malaise has seen his personal value plummet from £145m. Shares in Wetherspoon tumbled from 377.5p to a low of 159p. The shares have come back a bit but still languish at 212p. The performance of the company on the stock market has been so bad that some experts suggest a management buy-out might not be far away.
At £62m, Mr Martin is still worth more than David and Victoria Beckham (£50m) so probably won't be too concerned about mortgage repayments just yet.
Conversely, Mr Martin's pal Hugh Osmond has seen his worth rise this year, according to The Sunday Times. Share sale proceeds from Punch and his stake in Spirit are worth £100m and he also retains a 24 per cent stake in Wellington Pub Company, worth £50m. Other assets move him up, from £134m last year, to £182m.
Fellow financier Guy Hands stays at £140m. The former pubs boss netted massive bonuses with the sale of the Unique and Voyager pub groups last year but some questionable personal investments, including the Rockingham race track, have hurt.
He has £51.4m of his own money tied up in 11 hotels. His Terra Firma Capital Partners investment vehicle and other assets keep him at £140m.
Just below Mr Hands in the Rich List is entrepreneur Michael Cannon who has amassed a £139m personal fortune through pubs and hamburgers. He started in 1975 buying a half-stake in Bristol's Naval Volunteer. He has been buying, refurbishing and selling pubs for profits ever since.
Last June, Mr Cannon sold the Morrells of Oxford pub chain to Greene King for £67m, making a £25m gain on his investment. Other triumphs include the sales of Devenish and Magic Pub Company. He recently made a cheeky play for SFI's Bar Med, offering £10m when the asking price was £30m. SFI politely declined.
Underneath Mr Cannon is nightclub boss James Palumbo, who founded the Ministry of Sound nightclub business, on £136m.
David McMullen and family, of Hertfordshire brewing fame, are listed with a combined wealth of £130m. The family business has been the subject of intense takeover speculation following rumours that some shareholders want to quit the business and cash in. It is thought that some parts of the business will be sold to provide an exit. Real ale group CAMRA fears it could be the brewery and its clutch of beers.
Sam Whitbread and family are listed on £117m while John Halewood and family, of the Halewood International drinks business register at £80m. Christopher Brain and family, which own the Cardiff-based Brain & Co pub and beer business, are placed with £63m.
John Wells and family, which owns Bedfordshire brewing company Charles Wells, are listed at £55m, up from £49m last year. Wells was recently crowned Regional Brewer of the Year in The Publican Awards 2003 and brews the fast-growing Bombardier ale.
Listed fourth in the entire index of Britain's 1,000 richest was Charlene de Carvalho. She is the only daughter of the late Freddie Heineken and last year inherited his whopping £2.284bn brewing empire.
Trevor Hemmings, the leisure entrepreneur with a penchant for most of Blackpool, including the eponymous Tower and who recently bought the troubled Brannigans bar chain, was placed 64th in the list with £480m.
Frank Brake and family have a fortune of £270m after selling the family food business to a US private equity firm for £434m last year. The sale netted them £255m.
Top of the pile of the richest people in Britain is The Duke of Westminster, who owns rather a lot of property in London. Valued at £4.9bn, he is followed by food packaging tycoon Hans Rausing with £4.8bn, and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is third with £2.4bn.
Pictured: Britain's wealthiest: Guy Hands, Tim Martin and David McMullen.
