Page 10 - Yorkshire Rich List 2017

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Andrea Radrizzani £720m
New entry
A er three years under the ownership of the unpopular Massimo Cellino, the arrival of fellow Italian Andrea Radrizzani has been a breath of fresh air for the Leeds United faithful.
Cellino sold his remaining 50 per cent stake to Andrea Radrizzani, 43, in the summer. Through his global sport and media investment company Aser he acquired 50 per cent at the beginning of 2017, becoming co-owner.
He made several popular moves almost immediately, including the completion of the purchase of the Elland Road stadium, meaning Leeds owned its own stadium for the first time since 2004. He also brought Leeds Ladies back into the Leeds United fold a er Cellino stopped Leeds United funding for the women’s team in 2014. He has also overseen improvements to the team’s Thorp Arch training ground.
He appointed Thomas Christiansen from Cyprus’s APOEL as head coach to replace the departing Garry Monk, and brought in Victor Orta as director of football, Ivan Bravo as director of strategy and Angus Kinnear as chief executive.
His stated ambition is to get Leeds into the Premiership in three years.
Andrea Radrizzani is founder and chairman
of Aser as well as founding partner and vice- chairman of MP & Silva, an international sports agency which operates in 18 countries around the world. MP & Silva is a media partner of FIFA, the Premier League, Formula One and Arsenal FC among many others. In 2016 a Chinese investment group bought a 65 per cent stake in MP & Silva, valuing it at more than £680m.
The Aser group includes Eleven Sports Network – an international sports content platform operating in five countries in Europe and the Far East, beaming top class international football, American football, baseball and Formula One to nearly 15 million homes.
He was born in Milan and holds a degree in public relations from IULM University. He is the founder of the Play for Change Foundation – an international charity that uses sport and education to improve the lives of children. He speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish.
WHITES KNIGHT: Leeds United‘s new owner Andrea Radrizzani.
2016
Position: 9 £700m
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Paul Sykes £710m
Paul Sykes took receipts of £270m when he wound up his Harrogate-based property group Highstone in May this year.
Barnsley-born Paul Sykes, like Eddie Healey (qv), made most of his money from the acquisition, development and ultimate disposal of the giant Meadowhall retail park in Sheffield.
The site was originally derelict land when he and Eddie Healey bought it. The completed retail centre, which opened in 1990 and was the largest shopping mall in the UK, was sold to British Land for £1.17bn in 1999, ne ing £280m.
Previously Paul Sykes, who is 74, had been involved in developing industrial, office and warehouse properties across the north of England including Rotherham, Wakefield, Leeds and Salford.
The son of a Barnsley miner, before he moved into property he was a bus, coach and truck dealer. Having le school with no qualifications. His first business venture involved dismantling old buses and selling the engines to the Far East for fishing junks.
He ventured into the world of the internet when it was still in its relative infancy, and with fellow businessman Peter Wilkinson he owned and ran Leeds-based Planet Online which, at the time, was the UK’s largest internet provider carrying 40 per cent of all UK internet traffic. He sold it to Energis in 1998 for £85m.
Paul Sykes went on to run Highstone, a Harrogate-based property group which made a pre-tax profit of £18.5m in its last year of trading.
He has a house on the Studley Royal estate near Ripon. He was a significant donor to Ukip and is a longstanding opponent of the EU. He was previously a Conservative supporter but le the party in 1991 a er the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. He is a former chairman of Barnsley Conservative Party and served on the Yorkshire Conservative Regional Council.
He gives much of his money to charity and funded the building of a specialist prostate cancer unit at St James University Hospital, Leeds. He also donated more than £1m pounds to the restoration of the Royal Hall in Harrogate.
PHILANTHROPIST: Paul Sykes in his Beech Villa offices, Harrogate.
10 the magazine TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28 2017
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
EMMA NICHOLS