The Sunday Times Rich List has been revealed for 2022 – and it shows that the wealthiest people in the UK have grown their fortunes to a record £170 billion this year.
The annual list details the wealthiest 250 people in the UK and, alongside the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, this year’s super-rich list features ten people from the North West – including a couple of lads from Salford.
According to The Times, Rishi Sunak is the first-ever frontline political figure to feature in its list since it began in 1989. He and his wife, Akshata Murty, join the 2022 list with a combined £730m fortune just days after the Chancellor told people the ‘next few months will be tough’.
This year’s list also includes a record number of 177 UK billionaires, six more than in 2021,
The full list, now in its 34th year, shows that whilst millions in the country are enduring extreme hardships as UK inflation hits its highest rate in 40 years, those at the other end of the scale are still enjoying all the spoils of the free market.
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As The Timesitself states: “This year’s analysis shows a golden era for the super rich has continued unchecked.
“This year’s top 250 now have more wealth than the entire 1,000 entries of the 2017 Rich List.”
On the 2022 North West list, Michael Platt, a 53-year-old Preston-born hedge fund manager and Tory donor who resides in Switzerland, has seen his fortune rise by £2bn in a year to make him the wealthiest in the region.
In 2020, Platt’s hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management was fined $170million for misleading its investors and was accused of using a separate fund, run by its top traders, that invested employee’s money.
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Platt has knocked the Cheshire-based 7th Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, off the top spot – placing Prince George’s billionaire godfather at second place in the North West with a fortune of £9.726bn.
In third place is Jim Ratcliffe, the Oldham-born CEO of the Ineos chemical group. Worth £6.075bn, he has recently made headlines for making a failed bid to buy Chelsea football club – leading to speculation that he may now turn his attention to Manchester United instead.
63-year-old Liverpudlian Tom Morris, the founder of the ever-popular Home Bargains, is fourth on the regional list – £766 million richer than last year.
Rochdale brothers Mohsin and Zuber, the Lancashire-born founders of Euro Garages and new majority shareholders in Asda, have increased their wealth by £50m. The duo is now worth £4.73bn.
Sixth on the list are B&M founders Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora with a combined wealth of £2.543bn, followed by former Trafford Centre owner John Whittaker (of the Peel Group) at £1.6bn.
Henry Moser of Cheadle-based finance group Together sits in ninth place with a fortune of £1.565bn, and last on the list are Fred and Peter Done, owners of the bookmaking chain Betfred.
The Rich List bases its findings on what is called ‘identifiable wealth’, meaning that which can be publicly seen. This includes values of land, property, art, horses, and shares in public companies.
The paper is unable to access bank accounts or other private finance records. The full list can be viewed on The Times website here.
Feature image – Flickr / Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
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Consumer group urges Oasis and Ticketmaster to refund fans hit by ‘in demand’ ticket pricing
Emily Sergeant
Ticketmaster is being warned that its ‘in demand’ pricing system for Oasis tickets could be in breach of consumer law.
Which? is now calling on the Manchester band and the ticket website to refund fans.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Oasis are reforming for a run of shows in the UK and Ireland next year, but the massively long-awaited reunion tour has faced controversy following Ticketmaster’s use of ‘in demand’ pricing – which came into effect when tickets to the gigs went on sale on Saturday 31 August.
Ticketmaster’s ‘in demand’ pricing is where prices surge if demand for tickets is high.
After waiting in a lengthy virtual queue, many Oasis fans had a nasty shock at the checkout when they found tickets were significantly more expensive than they’d expected them to be.
Now, consumer group Which? says it believes Ticketmaster’s lack of transparency around its ‘in demand’ pricing could have breached consumer law, and is calling on the company to “do the right thing” and refund the difference to fans who paid more than the expected face value for tickets.
Which? says it saw evidence that fans were shown one ticket price when they were queuing for tickets, only to have has that price taken away at the last second and replaced with a far higher – and unexpected – ticket price when the page reloaded.
In one example, the cost of standing tickets – which was originally advertised for £151.25 – had surged to £337.50 each, due to this ‘in demand’ pricing.
This meant that four standing tickets, which is the maximum amount of tickets one person could secure in one order, would have cost an eye-watering £1,400 once the service and order processing fees were included.
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) protect consumers from unfair or misleading trading practices, and it’s this that Which? believes Ticketmaster’s lack of transparency around its ‘in demand’ pricing for the Oasis concerts could have breached, as many fans were not informed about the price increase until after they had tried to add cheaper tickets to their baskets.
“Under the CPRs, when advertising a product, traders must not mislead consumers with how prices are presented or leave out key pricing information that might be needed to make an informed decision about a purchase,” Which? said in a statement.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)is also investigating whether Ticketmaster’s sale of Oasis tickets may have breached consumer law, and if this is found to be the case, this when would enable fans to seek refunds and compensation from both Ticketmaster, and Oasis themselves.
When Which? contacted Ticketmaster, the company said: “We are committed to cooperating with the CMA and look forward to sharing more facts about the ticket sale with them.”
Featured Image – Simon Emmett
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Work commences on multi-million-pound scheme to build affordable and energy-saving homes in Oldham
Danny Jones
Ground has finally been broken on a new multi-million-pound scheme to build a slate of new affordable and energy-saving homes in Oldham.
Headed up by First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), the current development in the Hathershaw area is part of a wider strategy to deliver a total of 1,100 high-quality, sustainable properties in the borough and surrounding areas which was greenlit in 2020 and is estimated to run until 2026.
With increasing demand across the region, not to mention housing and cost of living crises across the country, FCHO has commenced work on the properties, enlisting Arca Construct Ltd as the main contractor and the project is estimated to be completed by summer 2025.
Construction work on the first 19 energy-saving and affordable Oldham homes is now well underway for the scheme, which is to cost around £4.5 million.
The Hathershaw developments include 16 three-bedroom houses along Belgrave Road and a further trio of three-bedroom homes over on neighbouring Thatcher Street.
Utilising an injection of £1.07m in funding from Homes England and a £285,000 Brownfield Housing Fund grant via Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the scheme involves transforming a former garage site into homes for affordable rent.
As part of FCHO’s green focus and sustainability targets set in its ‘Big Plan and Sustainability Strategy’, all the homes being created are also going to be eco-friendly as a priority.
Each property is being built to ensure the performance of materials that make up the building is maximised – known in the industry as a ‘fabric first approach.’
Moreover, with energy bills so challenging these days and Greater Manchester weather being what it is, each home will be highly insulated to ensure they are as warm and economical for customers as possible.
The housing association also includes a dedicated Homes and Neighbourhoods team to support homeowners once they’re all moved in.
Better still, with high energy efficiency specs in mind, all 19 of these affordable Oldham homes are set to achieve Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) B, not only saving customers money but also helping reduce their overall carbon footprint.
FCHO’s Development Director, Joel Owen, said of work kicking off: “It is fantastic to see these energy-efficient and affordable homes starting to take shape. Not only do they complement our commitment to provide high quality and affordable homes to people in the communities we are based in and serve but also our work to have sustainable and energy-efficient housing stock.”
Arca Construct’s Head of Construction, Nigel Lonsdale,added: “We understand the critical role First Choice Homes Oldham plays in providing affordable housing and are delighted to be working with them on this scheme.
“We pride ourselves on being a trusted partner, delivering exceptional results at competitive rates. Our membership in the Considerate Constructors Scheme and CHAS Elite underscores our commitment to quality and responsible construction.”
Georgina Pellant -
20th May 2022 
