Victoria Beckham ‘top entrepreneur’

Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham has topped a list of Britain’s 100 foremost entrepreneurs in 2014, according to a business magazine.

Mother-of-four Beckham, who shot to fame as Posh Spice and later became the world’s most famous WAG by marrying David Beckham, beat heavyweights such as Sir James Dyson to lead a list compiled by Management Today (MT).

The 40-year-old’s first fashion boutique in London’s Mayfair opened in September and her Victoria Beckham brand has seen revenue grow by 2,900 per cent in five years from a turnover of £1m to £30m this year, the magazine said.

Philip Beresford, the man behind the Sunday Times Rich List, wrote in MT: “It’s her finely tuned business acumen that wins her the top spot in MT’s 2014 ranking of Britain’s top 100 entrepreneurs.”

Two other fashion retailers made it into the top 10 - Mahmud Kamani, of Boohoo.com, was third, and Julian Dukerton, of Supergroup, home of the Superdry brand, was fourth.

Technology entrepreneurs also had strong representation, with Denise Coates, of online bookmaker Bet365, in sixth place, John Roberts, founder of kitchen appliance specialist AO World, seventh, Peter Kelly, of IT firm Softcat, eighth, and Philip Doyle, from Kelway IT services, ninth.

Making up the rest of the top 10 were Amit and Meeta Patel, of pharmaceutical firm Auden Mckenzie, in second place, while Roy MacGregor, of Global Energy, was fifth, and Jonathan Ruffer, of Ruffer Investment Manager, was 10th.