Knowledge | Posted by Si Thu Aung
Many dream of starting a business with a small sum of money and turning it into a million-pound juggernaut. After all, every business has to start somewhere. And if you are looking for inspiration, there are plenty of British entrepreneurs who have built themselves into household names from relatively small amounts, according to a top 25 list compiled by Start Up Loans, a Government funded scheme to provide advice and business loans to new firms,Topping that league is Topshop guru Sir Philip Green, who started his business importing jeans from the Far East to sell to London retailers with £20,000. Fast forward to today and his estimated fortune is now £3.88billion ,as the owner of Arcadia Group, which encompasses high street chains such as Burton, Miss Selfridge and , of course Topshop. Making up the rest of the top three is Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, who started with £10,000 and Sir Richard Branson, Virgin mogul, who started with just £300. Those who started with the least in the list are Lord Sugar, star of BBC's the Apprentice and Jon Hunt, founder of Foxtons estate agents – both began their business adventures with just £100 capital. Yasmina Siadatan, director of Start Up Loans, said: 'This list goes to show what can be achieved with very little start up capital and should act as an inspiration to the next generation of entrepreneurs. There are a number of people out there with great business ideas but little access to finance. Start Up Loans aims to equip enterprising individuals with the tools needed to make their business a success.' According to Start Up Loans, the rags-to-riches list is based on identifiable wealth, using information available in the public domain. The list comprises of self-made millionaires, who started their business in the UK with the help of small financial investment and have gone on to achieve notable success in their sector, providing inspiration for would-be entrepreneurs. 1. Sir Philip Green Estimated fortune: £3.88billion Sector: Fashion/retail Start up capital: £20,000 Having initially set up his first business with a £20,000 loan, importing jeans from the Far East to sell on to retailers in London, Green went on to become the owner of the Arcadia Group, which owns well-known high street chains such as Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, Topshop/Topman and Wallis. 2. Mike Ashley Estimate fortune: £3.75billion Sector: Retail/sports equipment/fashion Start up capital: £10,000 After leaving school at 16, he became a county-level squash coach. In the 1980s Ashley opened his first Sport & Ski shop in Maidenhead, before hitting the big time with Sports Direct which started from a £10,000 loan. It is now a presence across the UK's high streets. 3. Sir Richard Branson Estimated fortune: £3.6billion Sector: Tourism/finance/media Start up capital: £300 Branson epitomises the self-made entrepreneur. He started off creating a student magazine aged just 16, then in 1970, he founded a mail-order record company - within a year he had opened his first shop on London's Oxford Street – Virgin Records. Virgin has now become a brand which now covers everything from telecommunications to space tourism. 4. Peter Hargreaves CBE Estimated fortune: £2.39billion Sector: Finance Start up capital: £500 Hargreaves and his business partner Stephen Lansdown began their investment broker business Hargreaves Lansdown from a spare bedroom, with just £500 and their cars as company assets. In 2007, the company was floated on the London stock market valued at £800million. It is now valued at £4.5billion. 5. John Caudwell Estimated fortune: £1.5billion Sector: Telecoms Start up capital: £25,000 In 1987, Caudwell became aware of a new technology – mobile phones. From humble beginnings on a factory production line in Stoke, and running a mail order shop in the Midlands to the UK's fastest growing company, Caudwell built up the Caudwell Group, which included mobile phone chain Phones4U before netting more than £1billon at its sale in 2006. 6. Sir Charles Dunstone Estimated fortune: £1.49billion Sector: Telecoms Start up capital: £6,000 Charles began selling mobile phones out of his flat and became Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer from start up capital of £6,000 via his brand Carphone Warehouse. In July 2000 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange and based on an Issue price of 200p, the company was valued at approximately £1.7billion. 7. Sir Anwar Pervez and family Estimated fortune: £1.31billion Sector: Retail Start up capital: £2,200 Born in Pakistan, the son of a poor farmer, he grew up in a village in Punjab and would walk eight miles to school and back every day. Former bus conductor Pervez built Bestway Cash and Carry and his £1.3billion fortune, from scratch. Ref : Property Report
