Bill Adderley
Born
William Adderley

February 1948 (age 75)
Leeds, Yorkshire, England
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of the Dunelm Group home furnishings retailer
SpouseJean Adderley
Children2

William "Bill" Adderley (born February 1948) is a British businessman and founder of the FTSE 250-listed Dunelm Group home furnishings retailer.

Early life

Adderley was born on a council estate in February 1948[1] in Leeds, Yorkshire.[2] Adderley left school at 16, with a basic education level. He was a boyhood fan of Leeds United.

Career

Adderley was a manager at a Woolworths store[3] in Coalville, but left in 1979 after the company wanted him to relocate to its Skegness store.[2]

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 on Leicester market. In 1984, they opened their first home furnishings store, calling it Dunelm Mill.[4][2] He retired from Dunelm at the age of 58 in 2006 and left the growth of the company in the hands of his son, Sir William (“Will”) Adderley, and it was at this time the company floated.

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.[5]

Adderley sold most of his stake in Marks & Spencer and bought a stake in Morrisons in 2017.[6][7]

Currently, Dunelm operates in 180 stores across the UK and runs an ecommerce business.[8] The Adderley family still owns approximately 43% of the shares.

Wealth

In 2022, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his net worth at £1.78 billion.[9]

Personal life

He and his wife Jean have two children:[8] Will is a director and deputy chairman of Dunelm Group plc,[1][10] while Jonathan, is not actively involved in the business.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Dunelm Group plc". Companies House. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Griffin, I (12 May 2014). "Dunelm's founding family sees wealth soar by £100m". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Goodley, Simon (31 October 2013). "Bill Adderley unmasked as Marks & Spencer's biggest private shareholder". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bill Adderley". Forbes. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Bill Adderley unmasked as Marks & Spencer's biggest private shareholder". The Guardian. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  6. ↑ Jefford, Kasmira (1 June 2015). "Dunelm founder sells majority of stake in M&S". cityam.com. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Homeware stores tycoon 'takes stake in Morrisons'". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Forbes profile: Bill and Jean Adderley & family". Forbes. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Mack, Tom (20 May 2022). "Dunelm owners lose £9 million as Sunday Times Rich List reveals top spot for Leicestershire". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Nazir, Sahar (16 February 2021). "Dunelm deputy chair Will Adderley to sell £210m stake". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Gray, Charles (24 May 2021). "How Leeds born Bill Adderley went from living on a council estate to becoming one of the richest people in the country". Leeds Live. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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