Meet Britain’s entrepreneurial elite. Here are the leaders who have managed to create a UK business worth £1bn – and kept going. These are people who have built ventures spanning everything from artificial intelligence and virtual reality to hoodies and craft beer.
You’ll find discount retailers and a diamond dealer, bookmakers and the woman behind one of the biggest gambling companies in the world. Some of these founders left school without a qualification, others have PhDs. There are those who toiled away for years and are still in charge of their company after more than half a century.
There are others who have catapulted their way onto this list within just a few years by developing tech for which investors have been willing to write out very large cheques in the hope they are buying into the next Apple, Google or Facebook. One thing unites them all. At one point it was just them, perhaps a co-founder or two, an idea and a desire to try their luck.
The UK needs more of these billion-pound entrepreneurs with the energy and hunger to keep building. It needs more businesses that employ people by the thousand, not by the dozens or hundreds. The profiles may be of truly exceptional people, but their stories have lessons for businesses of every size.
Foreword
We are living through challenging times and there is a lot for our clients to process, whether they are investors or active entrepreneurs. The rise of interest rates, the changing geopolitical situation and a new government are just some of the factors leading our clients to adjust their approach, alongside the impact of technological advances. The business leaders in this list have demonstrated an ability to navigate testing times and continual changes to build impressive and lasting legacies.
Having spent the majority of my career working with entrepreneurs, including some on this list, it has been a privilege to have a ringside seat to see their energy and creativity as they realise their vision for their companies. As in their businesses, it’s important that business leaders choose the right advisers for their wealth. It can be easy to forget the emotions at stake when you’re working with people who built their businesses from scratch.
Deutsche Bank is proud to have been acknowledged by Euromoney as the World’s Best Bank for Entrepreneurs. Supporting entrepreneurs has always been a core part of our DNA. Historically, that’s been a keystone of our business, starting in Germany where we were facilitating international trade. But it’s become a focus and point of pride for the Private Bank to work with entrepreneurs in a very holistic way. That means looking at their life goals broadly, what they want for their businesses and their families, and what mark they would like to make on the world.
James Whittaker
Head of UK wealth management, UK CEO, Deutsche Bank
Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko co-founded Revolut in 2015 with a mission to revolutionise banking. Storonsky, a former trader at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, identified inefficiencies in global money transfers. Partnering with Yatsenko, a seasoned software engineer who had built systems for major investment banks, they launched a digital platform offering instant currency exchange and low-cost international payments. Their vision transformed Revolut into one of Europe’s fastest growing fintech companies, serving millions worldwide.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the founder, chairman and majority owner of Ineos, one of the world’s largest chemical companies. Born in Greater Manchester, he began his career in chemical engineering and finance before founding Ineos in 1998. Starting with a single plant, Ratcliffe built the company through bold acquisitions and a focus on efficiency and innovation. Today, Ineos operates globally across chemicals, energy and sport, reflecting Ratcliffe’s entrepreneurial drive and passion for challenge.
Sir James Dyson is a British inventor, engineer and entrepreneur best known for founding Dyson, the global technology company renowned for its household appliances. After years of experimentation, he created the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner in 1993, transforming the market through design and engineering. Under his leadership, Dyson expanded into haircare, air purification and robotics, becoming a symbol of British innovation. Knighted in 2007, Dyson continues to champion invention, education and practical engineering.
Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa are the co-founders of EG Group, a global convenience retail and fuel empire that began with a single petrol station in Blackburn. Founded in 2001, EG Group has grown through bold acquisitions and strategic partnerships into an international business spanning Europe, the US and Australia. Known for their entrepreneurial vision and disciplined growth, the Issa brothers have redefined forecourt retailing while expanding their portfolio to include Asda, Leon and other high-profile brands.
Kristo Käärmann is the co-founder and CEO of Wise, the global fintech company transforming international money transfers. Originally from Estonia, he founded Wise in 2011 with Taavet Hinrikus after experiencing the high costs of sending money abroad. Their peer-to-peer model disrupted traditional banking by offering fast, transparent, and low-cost transfers. Under Käärmann’s leadership, Wise has grown into a publicly listed company with millions of customers, redefining how people and businesses move money globally.
Greg Jackson is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, the fast-growing renewable energy company transforming the UK power market through technology and customer-centric innovation. Founded in 2016, Octopus Energy uses smart data and digital platforms to deliver affordable, green electricity to millions of homes worldwide. A lifelong entrepreneur, Jackson has built Octopus into one of Britain’s leading energy challengers, combining sustainability with scalability and proving that technology can drive a cleaner, fairer energy future.
Denise and John Coates are the co-chief executives of Bet365, one of the world’s largest online gambling companies. Founded in 2000 from a small family betting shop in Stoke-on-Trent, the siblings transformed Bet365 into a global digital powerhouse through innovation, technology and disciplined growth. Denise, who developed the company’s online platform, remains one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs, while John oversees operations and customer strategy. Together, they’ve built a multibillion-pound enterprise employing thousands worldwide.
Stephen Fitzpatrick is the founder and CEO of Ovo Energy, one of the UK’s leading independent energy suppliers. After launching the company in 2009 to challenge the dominance of traditional utilities, Fitzpatrick built Ovo around technology, transparency and customer service. His vision for a greener, smarter energy system has driven Ovo's rapid growth and sustainability focus. Today, Fitzpatrick leads the business in pioneering renewable solutions and digital innovation to accelerate the transition to net-zero energy.
Tom Morris is the British entrepreneur who founded Home Bargains in Liverpool in 1976, at the age of 21, drawing on a family-retail background. From a single Home & Bargain store, Morris grew the business into TJ Morris, one of the UK’s most successful privately owned retail groups, specialising in discount everyday goods. Known for keeping a low profile despite his wealth, he remains the majority owner and drives expansion of the chain across the UK.
Richard Harpin founded HomeServe in 1993, building it from a small home emergency repair service into a FTSE 100 company operating across several continents. After nearly three decades at the helm, Harpin oversaw HomeServe’s sale to Canadian investment giant Brookfield in 2022 for over £4bn. Today, through his investment vehicle Growth Partner, Harpin supports ambitious founders and scale-ups across the UK, sharing insights from his own experience of scaling, succession planning, and exit strategy. He is also the owner of Business Leader, helping other founders of mid-size companies scale faster through content, events and membership.
Martin Kissinger is the founder and CEO of Lendable, the London-based fintech platform launched in 2014 to modernise consumer lending. With degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford, Kissinger combined his academic background with experience at venture firms and online businesses to create a lending marketplace powered by AI and automation. Under his leadership, Lendable has grown rapidly, secured major institutional backing and reached a multi-billion-pound valuation.
Laurence Graff is a British jeweller and founder of Graff Diamonds, the renowned high-end jewellery house. Born in London’s East End in 1938, he began as an apprentice in Hatton Garden and in 1960 founded his own company. Under his leadership the business grew into a global luxury brand, handling some of the world’s most exceptional diamonds and operating boutiques around the world. Graff was appointed OBE in 2013 for services to the jewellery industry.
Herman Narula is the British-Indian co-founder and CEO of Improbable Worlds, the UK-based deep-tech company building infrastructure for large-scale virtual worlds and metaverses. A computer science graduate from Cambridge, Narula set up Improbable in 2012, securing major investment and pioneering simulation platforms for gaming, entertainment, defence and Web3 applications. Under his leadership the company has grown into a global frontier-technology business challenging how people interact in digital environments.
Ian and Richard Livingstone are the brothers behind London & Regional Properties (L&R), one of Europe’s major privately-owned real estate and leisure investment firms. Ian and Richard founded the business in the late 1980s, having earlier built a retail optician chain which they sold to focus fully on property. Under their guidance L&R has acquired large-scale assets including hotels, leisure groups and residential developments across the UK and internationally. Their joint leadership remains central to L&R’s long-term strategy.
Tim Steiner is the co-founder and CEO of Ocado Group, a British technology-driven grocery business that evolved into a global platform for online retail and automation. After several years as a bond trader at Goldman Sachs in London, New York and Hong Kong, he launched Ocado in 2000 with two former colleagues. Under his leadership the company has grown from an online supermarket into a FTSE-listed technology provider working with retailers worldwide.
Harry Hyman is the founder and chair of Primary Health Properties, a UK real-estate investment trust specialising in primary healthcare facilities. He created the business in the mid-1990s to acquire and lease buildings to GPs and other healthcare providers, growing the portfolio to hundreds of properties and a multi-billion-pound value. His background is in accountancy and corporate finance, and he remains actively involved in both strategic property investment and philanthropic ventures.
John Bloor is a British entrepreneur and property-developer who founded Bloor Homes, one of the UK’s largest privately owned housebuilders, and owns Triumph Motorcycles, the iconic British motorcycle brand. Starting his career with a plastering apprenticeship and building his first house before the age of 20, Bloor subsequently built a national property business while successfully reviving Triumph. His dual role in real estate and manufacturing has established him as one of Britain’s most significant private business owners.
Sir Peter Ogden and Sir Philip Hulme co-founded Computacenter in 1981, building it into one of the UK’s leading IT services and infrastructure companies. Combining Ogden’s background in physics, finance and investment banking with Hulme’s experience in management consulting, they created a business that became a FTSE 250 success story. Both men later turned to philanthropy — Ogden through the Ogden Trust supporting education, and Hulme through the Hadley Trust — while remaining key figures in British technology and enterprise.
Mark Slack is the co-founder and chief medical officer of CMR Surgical, the Cambridge-based med-tech company developing the Versius surgical robotics system. Formerly a consultant gynaecologist and academic surgeon, he moved into entrepreneurial innovation to make minimally invasive procedures more accessible and safe through robotics. Under his clinical and strategic leadership, CMR has scaled rapidly, raised major investment rounds, and established itself as a leading player in surgical-robotics.
Alex Kendall is the co-founder and CEO of Wayve, a UK-based autonomous-vehicle company using deep-learning end-to-end AI to generalise driving across environments. After earning a PhD in computer vision and robotics at the University of Cambridge, he launched Wayve in 2017 to apply his research in real-world mobility. He leads the company’s strategy, partnerships and global deployment of its AV2.0 technology.
Rishi Khosla is the co-founder and chief executive officer of OakNorth Bank, a UK digital challenger bank serving ambitious growth businesses. After earlier building a financial research outsourcing business that was sold to Moody’s, he launched OakNorth in 2015 to focus on fast, flexible debt finance for the “missing middle” of entrepreneurs and mid-sized companies. Under his leadership the bank has lent billions of pounds across the UK and US while also expanding its technology platforms.
Nicholas Vetch is co-founder and executive chairman of Big Yellow Group, the UK-based self-storage business listed on the London Stock Exchange. He launched the company in 1998 after previously co-founding Edge Properties, steering the business through its conversion to a property investment trust and national expansion. With deep experience in property and real-estate strategy, Vetch remains actively engaged in shaping Big Yellow’s growth and long-term positioning.
Mark Dixon is the founder and chief executive officer of IWG, a global provider of flexible workspaces that operates in over 120 countries. He left school at 16 to start his first entrepreneurial ventures and in 1989 launched what became IWG after spotting business people working in coffee shops in Brussels. Today IWG serves millions of people through thousands of locations and leads the shift to hybrid and flexible working models.
Victor Riparbelli and Steffen Tjerrild co-founded Synthesia in 2017, with the goal of using artificial intelligence to enable anyone to create high-quality video content without cameras or studios. Riparbelli serves as chief executive officer and Tjerrild as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Under their leadership the company has grown into a global generative-AI business serving thousands of organisations and achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation
Bill Holmes is the founder and executive chairman of Radius Payment Solutions, a UK-based fleet and mobility services business operating globally across fuel cards, telematics, vehicle solutions and connectivity. He earned a degree in biochemistry from the University of Leeds before starting his career at Esso. In 1990 he founded UK Fuels, which evolved into Radius through mergers and expansion. He remains central to its strategy and growth, with the company now active in many countries.
Sir Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, a global conglomerate spanning music, travel, telecommunications, health and more. He launched his first business, the youth magazine Student, as a teenager and built Virgin from a mail-order record business in 1970 into a brand active in dozens of countries. Branson remains a prominent entrepreneur and public figure, focused on innovation, disruption and the use of business as a force for good.
Vishal Marria is co-founder and chief executive officer of Quantexa, a London-based AI company that enables organisations to turn complex data into actionable insights.
With more than 20 years’ experience in analytics and financial-crime technology, he founded Quantexa in 2016 after senior roles at EY and other data-intensive firms. Under his leadership Quantexa has achieved unicorn status, scaled internationally and become a major player in decision-intelligence for sectors including finance, telecoms and government.
Chris Dawson is the founder and executive chairman of The Range, a UK discount retailer offering home, garden and leisure products across more than 200 stores. He left school at 15, began trading at Plymouth market and in 1989 opened his first superstore under the CDS Superstores name in Plymouth. Under his leadership The Range has grown into a major multi-billion-pound retail group and has acquired brands including Wilko and Homebase.
James Watt is the co-founder and former chief executive officer of BrewDog, the Scottish craft brewer and pub chain. Trained in law and economics at the University of Edinburgh, Watt left a trainee solicitor role and a stint as a fisherman to launch the business in 2007 with Martin Dickie. Under his leadership BrewDog grew rapidly into a global player in craft beer. Watt stepped down as CEO in 2024 but remains involved as a non-executive director.
Hiroki Takeuchi is co-founder and chief executive officer of GoCardless, a London-based fintech business that focuses on bank-to-bank and recurring payments worldwide. He launched the company in 2011 and has led its growth into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise supporting tens of thousands of customers and processing billions of dollars in transactions annually. Under his direction GoCardless has expanded across multiple markets and shifted toward profitability while pioneering open-banking payment rails.
Surinder Arora is the founder and executive chairman of Arora Group, a UK-based private investment and hotel business that specialises in airport-region hospitality, property and construction. After migrating from India as a teenager he entered the hotel business by acquiring premises near Heathrow airport for airline crews and rapidly expanded into hotel ownership, property development and managed services. Under his leadership Arora Group has grown into a diversified group with interests in hotels, real estate and leisure assets across key UK locations.
Henry Moser is the founder and executive vice-chairman of Together Financial Services Group, a UK non-bank lender specialising in mortgages, buy-to-let, auction finance and commercial lending. He started the business in 1974 and over five decades has guided its growth from a small lending company into a multi-billion-pound specialist lender. Moser remains involved in strategic direction and culture, even as the company transitions formal executive management roles.
Dame Mary and Doug Perkins co-founded Specsavers in 1984, building the business into one of the world’s largest privately-owned optical and hearing-care groups. Mary, an optometrist by training, focuses on customer insight and culture. Doug, also trained in optics, leads innovation and new business development. Their joint venture model and steady expansion across multiple countries have made Specsavers a household name. The couple remain actively involved in strategic direction of the company.
Sir Peter Rigby is the founder and chairman of Rigby Group, a privately-owned UK business group with interests in technology services, real estate, aviation and hospitality. He launched the business in 1975 with a modest personal investment, built the core company into Europe’s largest privately-owned IT services business and expanded into property and lifestyle assets. He remains actively involved in strategic direction and philanthropy through the Rigby Foundation.
Philip Belamant, Serge Belamant and Sean O’Connor co-founded Zilch in 2018, creating a London-based fintech that offers a “buy now, pay later” service and an ad-subsidised payments network. Philip serves as chief executive officer, Serge as chairman and O'Connor as co-founder. Under their leadership Zilch achieved unicorn status rapidly, scaled to millions of users and built a model aimed at reducing consumer credit costs through technology and merchant partnerships.
Euan Blair is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Multiverse, a London-based ed-tech company offering high-quality apprenticeships and technology upskilling as an alternative to traditional university routes. He founded the company in 2016 and has led its rapid growth into a global business working with over 1,500 companies and processing thousands of learners. His leadership focuses on closing skills gaps and making digital careers accessible to broader talent pools.
Sir Rocco Forte and his sister Olga Polizzi co-founded Rocco Forte Hotels in 1996 after the sale of their family business. Sir Rocco serves as chairman, Olga as director of design and deputy chair. Under their leadership the group has developed a collection of luxury hotels across Europe, emphasising craftsmanship, heritage and boutique hospitality. Their combined vision blends operational management and design excellence, making the business a prominent privately-owned hotel group in the UK and beyond.
Gordon Sanghera and Spike Willcocks co-founded Oxford Nanopore Technologies in 2005 after spinning out from the University of Oxford. Sanghera serves as chief executive officer, and Willcocks as chief strategy officer. Under their leadership the company has developed portable nanopore-based DNA and RNA sequencers, scaled globally and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Their vision turned a deep-tech life-sciences idea into one of the UK’s leading biotechnology companies.
Phil Brown founded Causeway Technologies in 1999 with the goal of creating software solutions to help construction and infrastructure organisations manage commercial operations more effectively. He led the business through rapid growth and product innovation, overseeing its emergence as a major UK-based construction-tech provider. In 2025 he transitioned to the role of executive chairman to focus on strategic direction while the new chief executive takes day-to-day leadership.
Matthew Scullion and Ed Thompson co-founded Matillion in 2011 and respectively serve as chief executive officer and chief technology officer. Scullion began his entrepreneurial journey aged 18 and built the company to a tech-unicorn valuation. Thompson started as a software consultant and led the engineering and product-innovation strategy. Together they guided Matillion from a UK start-up to a global leader in cloud data integration, serving thousands of organisations across multiple continents.
Tony Langley is the founder and chairman of Langley Holdings, a privately owned UK engineering and industrial group with more than 90 subsidiaries and over 5,000 employees worldwide. After starting the business in 1975 out of the remnants of his grandfather’s mining-equipment firm, he transformed it into a multi-billion-pound business through strategic acquisitions and diversification into global manufacturing and industrial markets. Langley remains actively involved in guiding the group’s long-term strategy.
Jones is still running his housebuilding business at the age of 90. He began his working life as a carpenter, before assembling a property empire spanning the UK, Florida and the Algarve in Portugal. Established in 1959, the group builds hundreds of homes a year, holds commercial and international assets and remains headquartered in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
After spending his time at Cambridge University studying law and playing rugby, Coombs went into investment banking. He founded Ashmore as a division of ANZ in 1992, on the hunch that investments in less-developed economies would outperform those in the US and Europe. He went on to lead a management buy-out in 1999 and took the firm public in 2006.
Mike Danson, a former management consultant, used four credit cards to fund the launch of Datamonitor in 1990. He sold the market intelligence provider for £502m in 2007, buying back part of the business to start his new venture, GlobalData. The London-based publisher now serves thousands of large-company clients across sectors and employs several thousand staff globally.
Fever-Tree was founded in 2004 by Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow to transform the mixer market. They recognised that while premium spirits were booming, mixers lagged behind in quality. Their first product, Indian Tonic Water, set a new standard by focusing on purity and flavour. Named after the cinchona “fever tree,” the brand quickly gained traction and expanded into a range of mixers. Today, Fever-Tree is a global leader, credited with driving the premium gin and mixer revolution.
After dropping out of university, Francis used his earnings as a Pizza Hut delivery driver to start Gymshark at the age of 19 with his school friend Lewis Morgan. The pair initially sold bodybuilding supplements before realising gym wear offered higher margins. Gymshark grew quickly by using Instagram influencers to promote their hoodies, leggings and other kit. A private equity deal in 2020 valued the Solihull-based brand at £1.1bn.
Before becoming successful gaming entrepreneurs, Lior Shiff and Eyal Chameides worked in military intelligence for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The pair’s first business was Product Madness, a maker of casino games hosted on Facebook, in 2012. Five years later, they teamed up with Turkish-born Akin Babayigit, a former Facebook executive who started his career at the consultancy McKinsey. The trio’s mobile gaming developer, Tripledot Studios, specialises in card and word-related games, such as solitaire, blackjack and sudoku.
James Basden and Steven Meersman co-founded Zenobē in 2017. The company builds and operates battery facilities to store excess renewable energy created by solar panels and wind turbines. It also helps transport companies, logistics firms and schools transition to electric vehicles. A third arm of the business recycles electric vehicle batteries.
Brothers Tom Beahon and Phil Beahon founded UK-based premium sportswear brand Castore in 2016, launching the business from their kitchen table after careers in banking and consulting and early sporting ambitions. Former tennis ace Andy Murray was an early backer of their Manchester-based sportswear label and before long, their kit was being worn by England cricketers, top rugby clubs and the Oracle Red Bull Formula One team. A fundraising in late 2023 valued the business at just shy of £1bn.
Fred Done and his younger brother Peter Done left school in Salford and, drawing on their early experience in their father’s bookmaking business, opened their first legal betting shop in 1967. They grew the enterprise under the name Done Bookmakers, later rebranding to Betfred in 2004. Their company has over 1,300 shops and 9,500 employees.
Wren is this Yorkshireman’s third successful kitchen supplier. The Humberside-based group now has more than 100 stores and is growing a presence in the United States. The business has around 5,000 staff and turns over around £1bn. Healey’s late brother Eddie was a successful property developer and one of the driving forces behind Meadowhall, the vast retail park on the outskirts of Sheffield.
After playing tennis for Great Britain at under-16 level, perhaps it was fitting that Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham started their tech firm from the lobby of their gym. The entrepreneurial twins co-founded Marshmallow in 2017, which uses artificial intelligence to identify low-risk motorists who might have been considered a bad risk by other insurers and therefore offered only expensive premiums. A fundraising in late 2021 valued the business at just under £1bn and since then the London firm’s revenues have quadrupled.
Set to celebrate his 100th birthday in 2026, Lewis remains a director of the high street fashion chain River Island. Retail was in the blood. His parents ran a greengrocer in North London and Lewis remembers being left in charge of the till when he was as young as nine years old. In 1948, he teamed up with his brothers to launch Lewis Separates, the clothes business that in time would become River Island. The brand grew under his stewardship from a small East London clothes store into a major high-street fashion chain known for in-house design and trend-led ranges.
Charlotte Tilbury is a British makeup artist and entrepreneur who founded the beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in September 2013, launching her skincare and makeup line at Selfridges in London. Drawing on over 20 years’ experience working with high-profile fashion clients and backstage at shows, she created a luxe, celebrity-inspired line that quickly gained cult status.
Steve Turner (CEO) and Mark Drain (CFO) co-founded Spectrum Medical in Cheltenham to deliver advanced medical-device and perfusion systems globally. Turner leads the clinical, product and innovation side, while Drain brings operational and financial oversight from his earlier technology and industry roles. Together, they built a platform supplying heart surgery and ICU technologies to more than 60 countries.
Ben Maruthappu teamed up with Marek Sacha to create Cera Care in 2016. Maruthappu, a UK-trained physician with a passion for health innovation, brought clinical experience and a motivation to transform home care after seeing his own family’s struggle. Sacha, a Czech-British tech entrepreneur and former management consultant, led the digital-platform build-out enabling Cera’s rapid growth. Together, they built a tech-enabled, data-driven home-care business aiming to shift care from hospitals into people’s homes.
Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko co-founded Revolut in 2015 with a mission to revolutionise banking. Storonsky, a former trader at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, identified inefficiencies in global money transfers. Partnering with Yatsenko, a seasoned software engineer who had built systems for major investment banks, they launched a digital platform offering instant currency exchange and low-cost international payments. Their vision transformed Revolut into one of Europe’s fastest growing fintech companies, serving millions worldwide.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the founder, chairman and majority owner of Ineos, one of the world’s largest chemical companies. Born in Greater Manchester, he began his career in chemical engineering and finance before founding Ineos in 1998. Starting with a single plant, Ratcliffe built the company through bold acquisitions and a focus on efficiency and innovation. Today, Ineos operates globally across chemicals, energy and sport, reflecting Ratcliffe’s entrepreneurial drive and passion for challenge.
Sir James Dyson is a British inventor, engineer and entrepreneur best known for founding Dyson, the global technology company renowned for its household appliances. After years of experimentation, he created the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner in 1993, transforming the market through design and engineering. Under his leadership, Dyson expanded into haircare, air purification and robotics, becoming a symbol of British innovation. Knighted in 2007, Dyson continues to champion invention, education and practical engineering.
Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa are the co-founders of EG Group, a global convenience retail and fuel empire that began with a single petrol station in Blackburn. Founded in 2001, EG Group has grown through bold acquisitions and strategic partnerships into an international business spanning Europe, the US and Australia. Known for their entrepreneurial vision and disciplined growth, the Issa brothers have redefined forecourt retailing while expanding their portfolio to include Asda, Leon and other high-profile brands.
Kristo Käärmann is the co-founder and CEO of Wise, the global fintech company transforming international money transfers. Originally from Estonia, he founded Wise in 2011 with Taavet Hinrikus after experiencing the high costs of sending money abroad. Their peer-to-peer model disrupted traditional banking by offering fast, transparent, and low-cost transfers. Under Käärmann’s leadership, Wise has grown into a publicly listed company with millions of customers, redefining how people and businesses move money globally.
Greg Jackson is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, the fast-growing renewable energy company transforming the UK power market through technology and customer-centric innovation. Founded in 2016, Octopus Energy uses smart data and digital platforms to deliver affordable, green electricity to millions of homes worldwide. A lifelong entrepreneur, Jackson has built Octopus into one of Britain’s leading energy challengers, combining sustainability with scalability and proving that technology can drive a cleaner, fairer energy future.
Denise and John Coates are the co-chief executives of Bet365, one of the world’s largest online gambling companies. Founded in 2000 from a small family betting shop in Stoke-on-Trent, the siblings transformed Bet365 into a global digital powerhouse through innovation, technology and disciplined growth. Denise, who developed the company’s online platform, remains one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs, while John oversees operations and customer strategy. Together, they’ve built a multibillion-pound enterprise employing thousands worldwide.
Stephen Fitzpatrick is the founder and CEO of Ovo Energy, one of the UK’s leading independent energy suppliers. After launching the company in 2009 to challenge the dominance of traditional utilities, Fitzpatrick built Ovo around technology, transparency and customer service. His vision for a greener, smarter energy system has driven Ovo's rapid growth and sustainability focus. Today, Fitzpatrick leads the business in pioneering renewable solutions and digital innovation to accelerate the transition to net-zero energy.
Tom Morris is the British entrepreneur who founded Home Bargains in Liverpool in 1976, at the age of 21, drawing on a family-retail background. From a single Home & Bargain store, Morris grew the business into TJ Morris, one of the UK’s most successful privately owned retail groups, specialising in discount everyday goods. Known for keeping a low profile despite his wealth, he remains the majority owner and drives expansion of the chain across the UK.
Richard Harpin founded HomeServe in 1993, building it from a small home emergency repair service into a FTSE 100 company operating across several continents. After nearly three decades at the helm, Harpin oversaw HomeServe’s sale to Canadian investment giant Brookfield in 2022 for over £4bn. Today, through his investment vehicle Growth Partner, Harpin supports ambitious founders and scale-ups across the UK, sharing insights from his own experience of scaling, succession planning, and exit strategy. He is also the owner of Business Leader, helping other founders of mid-size companies scale faster through content, events and membership.
Martin Kissinger is the founder and CEO of Lendable, the London-based fintech platform launched in 2014 to modernise consumer lending. With degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford, Kissinger combined his academic background with experience at venture firms and online businesses to create a lending marketplace powered by AI and automation. Under his leadership, Lendable has grown rapidly, secured major institutional backing and reached a multi-billion-pound valuation.
Laurence Graff is a British jeweller and founder of Graff Diamonds, the renowned high-end jewellery house. Born in London’s East End in 1938, he began as an apprentice in Hatton Garden and in 1960 founded his own company. Under his leadership the business grew into a global luxury brand, handling some of the world’s most exceptional diamonds and operating boutiques around the world. Graff was appointed OBE in 2013 for services to the jewellery industry.
Herman Narula is the British-Indian co-founder and CEO of Improbable Worlds, the UK-based deep-tech company building infrastructure for large-scale virtual worlds and metaverses. A computer science graduate from Cambridge, Narula set up Improbable in 2012, securing major investment and pioneering simulation platforms for gaming, entertainment, defence and Web3 applications. Under his leadership the company has grown into a global frontier-technology business challenging how people interact in digital environments.
Ian and Richard Livingstone are the brothers behind London & Regional Properties (L&R), one of Europe’s major privately-owned real estate and leisure investment firms. Ian and Richard founded the business in the late 1980s, having earlier built a retail optician chain which they sold to focus fully on property. Under their guidance L&R has acquired large-scale assets including hotels, leisure groups and residential developments across the UK and internationally. Their joint leadership remains central to L&R’s long-term strategy.
Tim Steiner is the co-founder and CEO of Ocado Group, a British technology-driven grocery business that evolved into a global platform for online retail and automation. After several years as a bond trader at Goldman Sachs in London, New York and Hong Kong, he launched Ocado in 2000 with two former colleagues. Under his leadership the company has grown from an online supermarket into a FTSE-listed technology provider working with retailers worldwide.
Harry Hyman is the founder and chair of Primary Health Properties, a UK real-estate investment trust specialising in primary healthcare facilities. He created the business in the mid-1990s to acquire and lease buildings to GPs and other healthcare providers, growing the portfolio to hundreds of properties and a multi-billion-pound value. His background is in accountancy and corporate finance, and he remains actively involved in both strategic property investment and philanthropic ventures.
John Bloor is a British entrepreneur and property-developer who founded Bloor Homes, one of the UK’s largest privately owned housebuilders, and owns Triumph Motorcycles, the iconic British motorcycle brand. Starting his career with a plastering apprenticeship and building his first house before the age of 20, Bloor subsequently built a national property business while successfully reviving Triumph. His dual role in real estate and manufacturing has established him as one of Britain’s most significant private business owners.
Sir Peter Ogden and Sir Philip Hulme co-founded Computacenter in 1981, building it into one of the UK’s leading IT services and infrastructure companies. Combining Ogden’s background in physics, finance and investment banking with Hulme’s experience in management consulting, they created a business that became a FTSE 250 success story. Both men later turned to philanthropy — Ogden through the Ogden Trust supporting education, and Hulme through the Hadley Trust — while remaining key figures in British technology and enterprise.
Mark Slack is the co-founder and chief medical officer of CMR Surgical, the Cambridge-based med-tech company developing the Versius surgical robotics system. Formerly a consultant gynaecologist and academic surgeon, he moved into entrepreneurial innovation to make minimally invasive procedures more accessible and safe through robotics. Under his clinical and strategic leadership, CMR has scaled rapidly, raised major investment rounds, and established itself as a leading player in surgical-robotics.
Alex Kendall is the co-founder and CEO of Wayve, a UK-based autonomous-vehicle company using deep-learning end-to-end AI to generalise driving across environments. After earning a PhD in computer vision and robotics at the University of Cambridge, he launched Wayve in 2017 to apply his research in real-world mobility. He leads the company’s strategy, partnerships and global deployment of its AV2.0 technology.
Rishi Khosla is the co-founder and chief executive officer of OakNorth Bank, a UK digital challenger bank serving ambitious growth businesses. After earlier building a financial research outsourcing business that was sold to Moody’s, he launched OakNorth in 2015 to focus on fast, flexible debt finance for the “missing middle” of entrepreneurs and mid-sized companies. Under his leadership the bank has lent billions of pounds across the UK and US while also expanding its technology platforms.
Nicholas Vetch is co-founder and executive chairman of Big Yellow Group, the UK-based self-storage business listed on the London Stock Exchange. He launched the company in 1998 after previously co-founding Edge Properties, steering the business through its conversion to a property investment trust and national expansion. With deep experience in property and real-estate strategy, Vetch remains actively engaged in shaping Big Yellow’s growth and long-term positioning.
Mark Dixon is the founder and chief executive officer of IWG, a global provider of flexible workspaces that operates in over 120 countries. He left school at 16 to start his first entrepreneurial ventures and in 1989 launched what became IWG after spotting business people working in coffee shops in Brussels. Today IWG serves millions of people through thousands of locations and leads the shift to hybrid and flexible working models.
Victor Riparbelli and Steffen Tjerrild co-founded Synthesia in 2017, with the goal of using artificial intelligence to enable anyone to create high-quality video content without cameras or studios. Riparbelli serves as chief executive officer and Tjerrild as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Under their leadership the company has grown into a global generative-AI business serving thousands of organisations and achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation
Bill Holmes is the founder and executive chairman of Radius Payment Solutions, a UK-based fleet and mobility services business operating globally across fuel cards, telematics, vehicle solutions and connectivity. He earned a degree in biochemistry from the University of Leeds before starting his career at Esso. In 1990 he founded UK Fuels, which evolved into Radius through mergers and expansion. He remains central to its strategy and growth, with the company now active in many countries.
Sir Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, a global conglomerate spanning music, travel, telecommunications, health and more. He launched his first business, the youth magazine Student, as a teenager and built Virgin from a mail-order record business in 1970 into a brand active in dozens of countries. Branson remains a prominent entrepreneur and public figure, focused on innovation, disruption and the use of business as a force for good.
Vishal Marria is co-founder and chief executive officer of Quantexa, a London-based AI company that enables organisations to turn complex data into actionable insights.
With more than 20 years’ experience in analytics and financial-crime technology, he founded Quantexa in 2016 after senior roles at EY and other data-intensive firms. Under his leadership Quantexa has achieved unicorn status, scaled internationally and become a major player in decision-intelligence for sectors including finance, telecoms and government.
Chris Dawson is the founder and executive chairman of The Range, a UK discount retailer offering home, garden and leisure products across more than 200 stores. He left school at 15, began trading at Plymouth market and in 1989 opened his first superstore under the CDS Superstores name in Plymouth. Under his leadership The Range has grown into a major multi-billion-pound retail group and has acquired brands including Wilko and Homebase.
James Watt is the co-founder and former chief executive officer of BrewDog, the Scottish craft brewer and pub chain. Trained in law and economics at the University of Edinburgh, Watt left a trainee solicitor role and a stint as a fisherman to launch the business in 2007 with Martin Dickie. Under his leadership BrewDog grew rapidly into a global player in craft beer. Watt stepped down as CEO in 2024 but remains involved as a non-executive director.
Hiroki Takeuchi is co-founder and chief executive officer of GoCardless, a London-based fintech business that focuses on bank-to-bank and recurring payments worldwide. He launched the company in 2011 and has led its growth into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise supporting tens of thousands of customers and processing billions of dollars in transactions annually. Under his direction GoCardless has expanded across multiple markets and shifted toward profitability while pioneering open-banking payment rails.
Surinder Arora is the founder and executive chairman of Arora Group, a UK-based private investment and hotel business that specialises in airport-region hospitality, property and construction. After migrating from India as a teenager he entered the hotel business by acquiring premises near Heathrow airport for airline crews and rapidly expanded into hotel ownership, property development and managed services. Under his leadership Arora Group has grown into a diversified group with interests in hotels, real estate and leisure assets across key UK locations.
Henry Moser is the founder and executive vice-chairman of Together Financial Services Group, a UK non-bank lender specialising in mortgages, buy-to-let, auction finance and commercial lending. He started the business in 1974 and over five decades has guided its growth from a small lending company into a multi-billion-pound specialist lender. Moser remains involved in strategic direction and culture, even as the company transitions formal executive management roles.
Dame Mary and Doug Perkins co-founded Specsavers in 1984, building the business into one of the world’s largest privately-owned optical and hearing-care groups. Mary, an optometrist by training, focuses on customer insight and culture. Doug, also trained in optics, leads innovation and new business development. Their joint venture model and steady expansion across multiple countries have made Specsavers a household name. The couple remain actively involved in strategic direction of the company.
Sir Peter Rigby is the founder and chairman of Rigby Group, a privately-owned UK business group with interests in technology services, real estate, aviation and hospitality. He launched the business in 1975 with a modest personal investment, built the core company into Europe’s largest privately-owned IT services business and expanded into property and lifestyle assets. He remains actively involved in strategic direction and philanthropy through the Rigby Foundation.
Philip Belamant, Serge Belamant and Sean O’Connor co-founded Zilch in 2018, creating a London-based fintech that offers a “buy now, pay later” service and an ad-subsidised payments network. Philip serves as chief executive officer, Serge as chairman and O'Connor as co-founder. Under their leadership Zilch achieved unicorn status rapidly, scaled to millions of users and built a model aimed at reducing consumer credit costs through technology and merchant partnerships.
Euan Blair is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Multiverse, a London-based ed-tech company offering high-quality apprenticeships and technology upskilling as an alternative to traditional university routes. He founded the company in 2016 and has led its rapid growth into a global business working with over 1,500 companies and processing thousands of learners. His leadership focuses on closing skills gaps and making digital careers accessible to broader talent pools.
Sir Rocco Forte and his sister Olga Polizzi co-founded Rocco Forte Hotels in 1996 after the sale of their family business. Sir Rocco serves as chairman, Olga as director of design and deputy chair. Under their leadership the group has developed a collection of luxury hotels across Europe, emphasising craftsmanship, heritage and boutique hospitality. Their combined vision blends operational management and design excellence, making the business a prominent privately-owned hotel group in the UK and beyond.
Gordon Sanghera and Spike Willcocks co-founded Oxford Nanopore Technologies in 2005 after spinning out from the University of Oxford. Sanghera serves as chief executive officer, and Willcocks as chief strategy officer. Under their leadership the company has developed portable nanopore-based DNA and RNA sequencers, scaled globally and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Their vision turned a deep-tech life-sciences idea into one of the UK’s leading biotechnology companies.
Phil Brown founded Causeway Technologies in 1999 with the goal of creating software solutions to help construction and infrastructure organisations manage commercial operations more effectively. He led the business through rapid growth and product innovation, overseeing its emergence as a major UK-based construction-tech provider. In 2025 he transitioned to the role of executive chairman to focus on strategic direction while the new chief executive takes day-to-day leadership.
Matthew Scullion and Ed Thompson co-founded Matillion in 2011 and respectively serve as chief executive officer and chief technology officer. Scullion began his entrepreneurial journey aged 18 and built the company to a tech-unicorn valuation. Thompson started as a software consultant and led the engineering and product-innovation strategy. Together they guided Matillion from a UK start-up to a global leader in cloud data integration, serving thousands of organisations across multiple continents.
Tony Langley is the founder and chairman of Langley Holdings, a privately owned UK engineering and industrial group with more than 90 subsidiaries and over 5,000 employees worldwide. After starting the business in 1975 out of the remnants of his grandfather’s mining-equipment firm, he transformed it into a multi-billion-pound business through strategic acquisitions and diversification into global manufacturing and industrial markets. Langley remains actively involved in guiding the group’s long-term strategy.
Jones is still running his housebuilding business at the age of 90. He began his working life as a carpenter, before assembling a property empire spanning the UK, Florida and the Algarve in Portugal. Established in 1959, the group builds hundreds of homes a year, holds commercial and international assets and remains headquartered in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.
After spending his time at Cambridge University studying law and playing rugby, Coombs went into investment banking. He founded Ashmore as a division of ANZ in 1992, on the hunch that investments in less-developed economies would outperform those in the US and Europe. He went on to lead a management buy-out in 1999 and took the firm public in 2006.
Mike Danson, a former management consultant, used four credit cards to fund the launch of Datamonitor in 1990. He sold the market intelligence provider for £502m in 2007, buying back part of the business to start his new venture, GlobalData. The London-based publisher now serves thousands of large-company clients across sectors and employs several thousand staff globally.
Fever-Tree was founded in 2004 by Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow to transform the mixer market. They recognised that while premium spirits were booming, mixers lagged behind in quality. Their first product, Indian Tonic Water, set a new standard by focusing on purity and flavour. Named after the cinchona “fever tree,” the brand quickly gained traction and expanded into a range of mixers. Today, Fever-Tree is a global leader, credited with driving the premium gin and mixer revolution.
After dropping out of university, Francis used his earnings as a Pizza Hut delivery driver to start Gymshark at the age of 19 with his school friend Lewis Morgan. The pair initially sold bodybuilding supplements before realising gym wear offered higher margins. Gymshark grew quickly by using Instagram influencers to promote their hoodies, leggings and other kit. A private equity deal in 2020 valued the Solihull-based brand at £1.1bn.
Before becoming successful gaming entrepreneurs, Lior Shiff and Eyal Chameides worked in military intelligence for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The pair’s first business was Product Madness, a maker of casino games hosted on Facebook, in 2012. Five years later, they teamed up with Turkish-born Akin Babayigit, a former Facebook executive who started his career at the consultancy McKinsey. The trio’s mobile gaming developer, Tripledot Studios, specialises in card and word-related games, such as solitaire, blackjack and sudoku.
James Basden and Steven Meersman co-founded Zenobē in 2017. The company builds and operates battery facilities to store excess renewable energy created by solar panels and wind turbines. It also helps transport companies, logistics firms and schools transition to electric vehicles. A third arm of the business recycles electric vehicle batteries.
Brothers Tom Beahon and Phil Beahon founded UK-based premium sportswear brand Castore in 2016, launching the business from their kitchen table after careers in banking and consulting and early sporting ambitions. Former tennis ace Andy Murray was an early backer of their Manchester-based sportswear label and before long, their kit was being worn by England cricketers, top rugby clubs and the Oracle Red Bull Formula One team. A fundraising in late 2023 valued the business at just shy of £1bn.
Fred Done and his younger brother Peter Done left school in Salford and, drawing on their early experience in their father’s bookmaking business, opened their first legal betting shop in 1967. They grew the enterprise under the name Done Bookmakers, later rebranding to Betfred in 2004. Their company has over 1,300 shops and 9,500 employees.
Wren is this Yorkshireman’s third successful kitchen supplier. The Humberside-based group now has more than 100 stores and is growing a presence in the United States. The business has around 5,000 staff and turns over around £1bn. Healey’s late brother Eddie was a successful property developer and one of the driving forces behind Meadowhall, the vast retail park on the outskirts of Sheffield.
After playing tennis for Great Britain at under-16 level, perhaps it was fitting that Alexander and Oliver Kent-Braham started their tech firm from the lobby of their gym. The entrepreneurial twins co-founded Marshmallow in 2017, which uses artificial intelligence to identify low-risk motorists who might have been considered a bad risk by other insurers and therefore offered only expensive premiums. A fundraising in late 2021 valued the business at just under £1bn and since then the London firm’s revenues have quadrupled.
Set to celebrate his 100th birthday in 2026, Lewis remains a director of the high street fashion chain River Island. Retail was in the blood. His parents ran a greengrocer in North London and Lewis remembers being left in charge of the till when he was as young as nine years old. In 1948, he teamed up with his brothers to launch Lewis Separates, the clothes business that in time would become River Island. The brand grew under his stewardship from a small East London clothes store into a major high-street fashion chain known for in-house design and trend-led ranges.
Charlotte Tilbury is a British makeup artist and entrepreneur who founded the beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in September 2013, launching her skincare and makeup line at Selfridges in London. Drawing on over 20 years’ experience working with high-profile fashion clients and backstage at shows, she created a luxe, celebrity-inspired line that quickly gained cult status.
Steve Turner (CEO) and Mark Drain (CFO) co-founded Spectrum Medical in Cheltenham to deliver advanced medical-device and perfusion systems globally. Turner leads the clinical, product and innovation side, while Drain brings operational and financial oversight from his earlier technology and industry roles. Together, they built a platform supplying heart surgery and ICU technologies to more than 60 countries.
Ben Maruthappu teamed up with Marek Sacha to create Cera Care in 2016. Maruthappu, a UK-trained physician with a passion for health innovation, brought clinical experience and a motivation to transform home care after seeing his own family’s struggle. Sacha, a Czech-British tech entrepreneur and former management consultant, led the digital-platform build-out enabling Cera’s rapid growth. Together, they built a tech-enabled, data-driven home-care business aiming to shift care from hospitals into people’s homes.
To qualify for our list, an entrepreneur had to be a director of a company he or she founded or co-founded that has recently been valued at £1bn or more. We also included founders who are still the majority owners of their business but are not directors, such as Mike Ashley.
Valuations of public companies were derived from stock market prices at the start of the end of January 2025. The valuations of private companies were set by figures made public after a recent fundraising or sale.
If this was not available, we used a multiple of their annual profits, or in a small number of cases, their net assets. Businesses focused on financial or property trading were not included.
Tim Steiner’s journey from Goldman Sachs trader to Ocado founder offers a blueprint for how bold ideas, clear thinking and constant reinvention can transform an industry
