Issa brothers move up one spot in Sunday Times Rich List

Preston-born financier Michael Platt leads the way for the North West in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List.

The co-founder of the BlueCrest Capitals hedge fund is placed 12th in the national rankings with his worth estimated at £12.5bn which has risen by £500m.

 Blackburn's Issa brothers have climbed one place in this year’s list. Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded the EG Group, are ranked as the fourth wealthiest people in the North West after moving up one spot compared to last year.

 They sit at number 32 in the national ranking. Their joint wealth is £6bn, according to the Sunday Times, a £1bn increase on last year.

 The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family, who own the Abbeystead Estate near Lancaster, rank 14th on the list with an estimated worth of £9.884bn, down £243m.

 Meanwhile, Chorley real estate developer Tim Knowles has moved up 19 places on the list to 207th with his worth reported to be £735m.

 Tim is the founder and managing director of FI Real Estate Management (FIREM) which has submitted plans for a new 1.3m sq ft logistics park on the edge of Chorley. 

 Daisy Group’s Matt Riley is a re-entry at 273rd spot with an estimated worth of £500m.

 Nelson based telecoms group Daisy has announced plans to merge its business-to-business operations with Virgin Media O2 to create “a major new force” in communications and IT.

 The move will see them combine their direct B2B (business-to-business) operations into a giant new entity with an anticipated turnover of around £1.4bn. It has been described as a “British business connectivity powerhouse”.

 The 2025 Sunday Times Rich List is the definitive guide to wealth in the UK. It charts the wealth of the 350 richest people in the UK.

 The list is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.

 It excludes bank accounts, to which the paper has no access. The magazine includes several interviews and features, focused on some of the leading players and personalities among the richest 350, as well as a full ranking by order of wealth. 

 Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “The Sunday Times Rich List is changing. Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling. We are also finding fewer of the world’s super rich are coming to live in the UK.  

 “This year we were also struck by the strength of criticism for Rachel Reeves’s Treasury. We expected the abolition of non-dom status would anger affluent people from overseas.

 "But homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October’s budget.  

  “Our research continues to find a wide variety of self-made entrepreneurs building fortunes not just from artificial intelligence, video games and new technologies but also mundane, everyday items such as makeup, radiators and jogging bottoms.

 "We know many of our readers find these people and their stories inspiring — especially the many who had tough starts or setbacks to their lives and careers.” 

 The Sunday Times can be viewed at https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list