William "Bill" Adderley (born February 1948) is a British businessman and founder of the
FTSE 250
The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...
-listed
Dunelm Group
Dunelm Group Plc is a British home furnishings retailer operating throughout the United Kingdom. One of the largest homewares retailers in the United Kingdom, The company headquarters are based in Syston, England. It also has its own factory for ...
home furnishings retailer.
Early life
Adderley was born on a council estate in February 1948
in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, Yorkshire.
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
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
store
in
Coalville
Coalville is an industrial town in the district of North West Leicestershire, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England, with a population at the 2011 census of 34,575. It lies on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Tr ...
, but left in 1979 after the company wanted him to relocate to its
Skegness
Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
store.
[
In 1979, while looking for a new job, Adderley and his wife, Jean, sold curtains which had been rejected by ]Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
from a stall on Leicester market. In 1984, they opened their first home furnishings store, calling it Dunelm Mill.[ 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
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' commented that Adderley had become the largest private shareholder in Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
, having built a stake valued at £250 million.
Adderley sold most of his stake in Marks & Spencer and bought a stake in Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...
in 2017.
Currently, Dunelm operates in 175 stores across the UK and runs an ecommerce business.
Wealth
In 2022, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated his net worth at £1.78 billion.
Personal life
He is married to Jean and has two children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adderley, Bill
1948 births
Living people
British retail company founders
Businesspeople from Leeds
English billionaires
English chief executives
English company founders
English philanthropists