Start Up Loans, the government funded scheme to provide funding support to startup businesses, has compiled the list which looks at the initial capital some of the UKs leading entrereneurs used to start their business lives and going on to amass personal wealth measured in some cases in billions of pounds.
Sir Philip started with just £20,000 when he began importing jeans from the Far East.
But he has since gone on to takeover the Arcadia Group, own high-street chains such as Burton, Miss Selfridge and Topshop and build an £3.88bn empire.
Second on the list is Mike Ashley who used a loan of £10,000 to open his first Sport & Ski shop in Maidenhead. Now, the Newcastle United and Sports Direct owner has an estimated fortune of £3.75bn.
Sir Richard Branson completes the top three starting his entrepreneurial journey with only £300 of startup capital before going onto to create the Virgin brand and amassing a £3.6bn business.
Notable names in the top 25 include The Apprentice’s Lord Sugar, who founded British electronics company Amstrad, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Business Matters columnist, and plumbing multimillionaire supremo Charlie Mullins.
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.
