Lancashire names rise and fall in latest Rich List

Daisy Group’s Matt Riley, pictured, is one of the highest risers in Lancashire in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List.

Matt has gone up from 273rd to 60th with an estimated worth of £957m up by £457m from last year.

In July last year, Lancashire Business View reported that Nelson based telecoms group Daisy merged its business-to-business operations with Virgin Media O2 to create ‘a major new force’ in communications and IT.

Meanwhile, Preston-born financier Michael Platt leads the way for the Lancashire 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 £12.481bn which is down by £19m.

The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family, who own the Abbeystead Estate near Lancaster, have dropped four spots to 18th on the list with an estimated worth of £9.677bn, down £207m from last year.

Blackburn's Issa brothers have fallen three places in this year’s list. Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded the EG Group, sit at number 35 in the national ranking.

Their joint wealth is £5bn, according to the Sunday Times, a £1bn decrease on last year.

Chorley real estate developer Tim Knowles is just outside the top 200 richest people in the UK.

The founder and managing director of FR Real Estate Management (FIREM) has moved up six places on the list to 201st with his worth reported to be £775m, up by £40m.

The Sunday Times has also revealed the wealthiest people under 40 in the North West and former Morecambe resident Tyson Fury comes in fourth place.

The boxer is now based in the Isle of Man and has a reported wealth of £162 million in 2026, which also makes him the 229th richest person under 40 nationally.

The 2026 Sunday Times Rich List 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.

This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together holds combined wealth of £783.5bn.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Rich List is a tale of two exoduses. One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don’t feature this time.   

 “Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away.

“We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco.

“As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List - wherever they now live.   

“We believe understanding where wealth lies and where it is being accumulated is a vital part of a functioning democracy.  

“Over the years our research has told us a lot about our country, charting the way a generation of largely self-made entrepreneurs overtook the old money of the landed gentry.”

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