Doncaster business tycoons named among Yorkshire's top ten richest people

Two Doncaster business tycoons have been named among Yorkshire's richest people in the annual Sunday Times Rich List.
Lord Kirkham and Terry Bramall.Lord Kirkham and Terry Bramall.
Lord Kirkham and Terry Bramall.

Construction firm boss Terry Bramall and DFS sofa king Lord Kirkham have both made it onto the list of Britain's 1,000 richest people, which is set to be revealed in full this weekend.

Lord Kirkham and family were ranked as the fourth richest in Yorkshire with wealth of £1.15bn - no change from the 2016 total.

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Meanwhile. Mr Bramall secured sixth spot in the list of the region's top tycoons, with a fortune of £425 million, a figure also unchanged from the previous list.

Bramall, a director of Doncaster Rovers, made his pile as the chairman of Keepmoat, the community regeneration and housebuilding company which also lends its name to the club's stadium.

Meanwhile, DFS founder Lord Kirkham held his place on the list thanks to the fortune amassed through the nationwide furniture business he set up in 1969.

He began by selling discount furniture from a room above a snooker hall in Carcroft and in 2010 it was announced that DFS had been sold to private equity firm Advent International for a reported £500 million.

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Meanwhile, Sheffield brothers Eddie, 79, and Malcolm Healey, 72, are second on the county's list of top tycoons with a fortune of £1.48 billion - up £50 million on last year's total.

And fellow Sheffield businessman Paul Sykes landed fifth spot in the rundown with an estimated wealth of £710 million - a rise of £20 million on 2016.

The Healey brothers have amassed their fortunes through retail parks and kitchens - and it was Meadowhall for which Eddie is best known.

It was originally derelict land when he bought it with fellow developer Paul Sykes. The completed retail centre, which opened in 1990 and was the largest shopping mall in the UK, was sold to British Land for £1.17bn in 1999. He made £420m from the sale.

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He also developed the £500m Centro in Oberhausen, Germany which is Europe’s largest shopping centre and sold the Parkgate shopping complex in Rotherham for £260m. He has joined forces with Dave Whelan of JJB Sports to launch Soccer Domes, combining football-based leisure and retail ventures.

And the pair's West Retail Group, which includes Wren Kitchens and the electronics retailer Ebuyer, enjoyed a record year in 2015, with sales soaring to £446m

Eddie Healey spends much of his time in Barbados where he has a £17m home.

Holding the top spot in Yorkshire are Robert Miller and Princess Marie-Chantal and family with wealth estimated at £1.58bn.

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Miller, 84 later this month, co-founded the Hong Kong-based Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) chain with Alan Parker in 1960, specialising in airport shops.

This year's Sunday Times Rich List - the 29th and set to be published this Sunday, May 7, will be revealed in a 160-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine.

The full 1,000 strong list will be available at www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist2017