Yorkshire's 50 Richest People: From tyre-fitting to tycoons, meet the region's top 10 self-made magnates

The latest edition Yorkshire's 50 Richest People list is here and in it is the list of the region's top 10 self-made individuals showcases a diverse array of talents, from retail moguls to innovative property magnates.

These entrepreneurs have not only carved their own paths to financial success but have also significantly impacted their respective industries and, in many cases, the wider community.

1. Lord Kirkham and family, 14/12/44

2024: £1.140bn

2023: £1.140bn

Retail

Adopted when just three weeks old, Kirkham dreamed of joining the RAF while at school in Maltby. But he didn’t manage to pass the necessary five O-levels and so instead took a job at a local furniture shop. In the late 1960s he started what would grow into the sofa retailer DFS.

By making his furniture above a snooker hall and selling it in a shop below direct to customers he was able to offer the public low prices because he cut out middlemen like warehouses and delivery drivers. Kirkham made £450m from floating the sofa retailer DFS on the stock market and another £400m by buying up all the shares and selling it onto a private equity group in 2010.

2. Paul Sykes, 30/05/43

2024: £775m

2023: £775m

Property

Barnsley-born Sykes failed his eleven-plus and left school without any qualifications. After working as a tyre-fitter, he set up a business in his later teens that dismantled old buses and sold their engines to operators of fishing boats in the Far East. Before long he set up another business exporting complete buses to Australia, New Zealand, Africa and other Commonwealth countries.

In his early 40s he moved into property, earning well from the London Docklands boom and the development of Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. He then made a third fortune from Planet Online, one of the early internet service providers. Sykes’ Highstone property group built up assets of more than £300m over the years and after a final year of trading he paid himself a dividend of £312.5m.

3. Steve Parkin, 17/12/60

2024: £509m

2023: £460m

Logistics

After growing up on a Leeds council estate and failing his O-levels, Parkin worked as a trainee butcher before spending 18 months as a coal miner. He quit the pits after TV adverts for Yorkie chocolate bars inspired him to get his heavy goods driving licence and he began a new career delivering fish. His “man with a van” start-up would grow into Clipper Logistics, a fulfilment giant that in time landed contracts with John Lewis, ASOS and Superdry. Two years ago Parkin sold Clipper for almost £1bn, providing plenty of readies to indulge his passion for horseracing.

4. David Jackson and family, 05/01/55

2024: £201m

2023: £155m

Business services

Jackson moved from Bridlington to Leeds at the age of 17 because he couldn’t find work in his home town. He became an apprentice draughtsman but would later work in the construction industry. It was here he spotted how hard many building firms found it hard to stay on the right side of the tax authorities when hiring freelance bricklayers and other contractors.

This would inspire him to set up payroll services firm Hudson Contract, although he wouldn’t do so until overcoming three bouts of cancer. The business is now worth at least £150m, has paid out extensive dividends over the years. It is based in Bridlington.

5. Andrew Thirkill and family, 15/01/59

2024: £180m

2023: £180m

Finance and media

Thirkill’s money making endeavours began when he was 12 by collecting empty bottles from the terraces of Yorkshire’s cricket ground, picking up 2p for each one he returned. He later worked as a bricklayer and in advertising for newspapers, before starting an ad agency of his own.

He now runs Age Partnership and Pure Retirement, two companies arranging equity release and selling other financial products for the over 50s. The Leeds-based businesses together made profits of £18.1m, according to their most recent accounts.

6. David Kilburn and family, 13/07/45

2024: £110m

2023: £107m

Builders merchants

Kilburn didn’t become an entrepreneur until an age when many people have one eye on retirement. He was 50 years old and had been made redundant from one builders merchants when he decided to start a similar venture of his own.

Hull-based MKM now turns over almost £1bn a year and has more than 120 branches. He has now sold most of the company to the private group Bain but still has 18% of the shares in the £500m group.

7. Sir Bob Murray and family, 03/08/46

2024: £100m

2023: £100m

Kitchens and property

The son of a miner, Murray left school at 15 with just one qualification. He then took a job as an office boy and put himself through accountancy training.

Murray started the Doncaster-based Omega Kitchens after building up and selling his Spring Ram bathroom group. Murray’s two largest companies show balances of £91.5m. He owned Sunderland Football Club for 20 years and led the Black Cats to the 1992 FA Cup Final.

8. Dr Mike Lee and family, 10/10/47

2024: £75m

2023: £69m

Property

Lee was working as university researcher in Hull when he started developing property in his spare time to let out to students. He had been dismayed at the quality of accommodation while reading his degree.

By his early 30s he was ready to set up Kexgill. His Humberside based accommodation group now has more than 3,000 beds across Liverpool, Preston, Salford, Bradford, Nottingham, Middlesbrough and Stockton. There are also sites in Denmark and Germany. Lee’s main company now shows £75m of net assets.

9. Murad Patel and family, 01/06/57

2024: £71m

2023: £69m

Retail

Patel and his wife Rokaya started their tile retailer Al-Murad from their home nearly 40 years ago. Even when they opened a small shop in Batley Carr near Dewsbury they continued squeezing the business around their day jobs.

Their Leeds-based business is now the largest independent importer of tiles in the UK, typically turning over £40m a year. Over the past five years the £60m business has paid out £12.6m of dividends.

10. Allan Otley, 08/04/61

2024: £50m

2023: Did not appear

Car sales

Otley started his career in the Royal Transport Corps, a British army regiment with a Latin motto translating as “nothing without labour”. After quitting the military in his 20s he took a job at a car dealership in Bradford.

By his mid 40s he was ready to start his own chain and opened his first showroom in Barnsley. Turnover at his group Cars2 grew by 14% to a record £191.6m in 2023. With a strong balance sheet, the business should easily be worth £50m.