Bill Adderley
Bill Adderley | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Adderley February 1948 Leeds, Yorkshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse | Jean Adderley |
William Adderley (born February 1948) is a British billionaire businessman, founder of the FTSE 250-listed Dunelm Group home furnishings retailer.
Early life
William Adderley was born in February 1948[2] in Leeds, Yorkshire.[3]
Career
Adderley was a manager at a Woolworths store[4] in Coalville, but left in 1979 after the company wanted him to relocate to its Skegness store.[3]
In 1979, while looking for a new job, Adderley and his wife Jean sold curtains which had been rejected by Marks and Spencer from a stall in Leicester market. In 1984, they opened their first home furnishings store, calling it Dunelm.[3][1]
In October 2013, The Guardian commented that Adderley had become the largest private shareholder in Marks & Spencer, having built a stake valued at £250 million.[4]
According to Forbes, as of December 2014, Adderley and family own 53% of the shares in Dunelm, giving a net worth of $1.7 billion.[1]
Personal life
He is married to Jean.[1] They live near Uppingham, Rutland. He is a member at the prestigious Luffenham Heath Golf Club, and swears by the golf club brand Turin.[3] His son William Lester Adderley is a director of Dunelm Group.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "Bill Adderley". Forbes. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Dunelm Group plc". Companies House. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d Griffin, I (12 May 2014). "Dunelm's founding family sees wealth soar by £100m". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ a b Goodley, Simon (31 October 2013). "Bill Adderley unmasked as Marks & Spencer's biggest private shareholder". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2014.