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John Whittaker (born 14 March 1942) is a British billionaire. He is chairman of
the Peel Group The Peel Group is a British infrastructure and property investment business, based in Manchester. In 2022, its Peel Land and Property estate extends to of buildings, and over of land and water. Peel retains minority stakes in its former port ...
, a property business that mainly invests in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,052,000 in 2011. It is the ...
. Although publicity-shy, he has been described as one of the most influential business leaders for
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside ...
and the
North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
by the ''
Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 2 ...
'' (2007), and was named the most influential northerner by ''
The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or indivi ...
'' magazine in 2010. According to The ''
Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday new ...
'' in 2019, Whittaker is worth £1.95 billion, a decrease of £300 million from 2018.


Early life

Whittaker was born to John and May Whittaker in
Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the historic county boundaries ...
in 1942. He was educated at
Prior Park College Prior Park College is a mixed Roman Catholic public school for both day and boarding students. Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England, Prior Park has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I ...
, a Catholic boarding school in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Pla ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ; Archaism, archaically Somersetshire , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the so ...
, and considered becoming a priest before deciding to join the family business.


The Peel Group

In the 1980s he fought a bitter battle to take over the Manchester Ship Canal Company, out of which the Trafford Centre emerged. Whittaker's Peel Group sold the 1.5m sq ft
Trafford Centre The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space. Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford ...
to Capital Shopping Centres (now
Intu Properties Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...
) in January 2011. Under the terms of the deal, which valued the
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
scheme at £1.6 billion, his company, Peel, took shares in CSC worth £636m and he joined its board as deputy chairman. Whittaker resigned as deputy chairman in July 2020 following the company going into administration. In 2010, his wealth doubled from £1.01 billion to £2.07 billion, mainly thanks to the £1.65 billion sale of the
Trafford Centre The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space. Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford ...
. In 2013, Peel Group started an Ocean Gateway project, aiming to transform 50 miles of industrial land between the Port of Liverpool and Salford Docks into a £50 billion redevelopment called “Ocean Gateway”. Whittaker hoped the Manchester development would become a Chinese business hub. He accompanied the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
on his trade mission to
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
in 2010. According to The ''
Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday new ...
'' in 2019, Whittaker is worth £1.95 billion, a decrease of £300 million from 2018. In June 2019, ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...
'' reported that Peel was liquidating stakes in Peel Ports and Liverpool airport to cover losses at
Intu Properties Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...
where Peel Group owned 27.3%.


Business reputation

Whittaker has been regarded as a publicity-shy businessman who rarely gives interviews. In 2010 when
Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/ lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in India ...
attempted to purchase the Trafford Centre, insiders saw Whittaker as "formidable opposition" and a "very astute, very clever and a very good businessman". One such example of his astute business mind was convincing the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
to reject three other sites across Manchester to move to
MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in City of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by The Peel Group, Peel Media; its principal tenants are Mass media, ...
in
Salford Quays Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom foll ...
. The presence of the BBC would then act as a magnet to attract indie production companies to Salford and the Peel Group would make money from the rent and lease agreements on the development.


Personal life

Whittaker lives on the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
. He has four children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, John 1942 births Living people British billionaires English billionaires English Roman Catholics English businesspeople People from Bury, Greater Manchester Manx people People educated at Ampleforth College The Peel Group