John Hargreaves (born January 1944) is a Monaco-based British businessman, the founder and chairman of the UK out-of-town discount clothing and homeware chain Matalan.
John Hargreaves | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1944 (age 80) Everton, Liverpool, England |
| Known for | Founder and chairman, Matalan |
| Children | 3 |
Career
editJohn Hargreaves was born in January 1944 in Everton, the son of a docks labourer, one of eight children who all shared one bedroom in a Liverpool terrace house.[1][2]
Hargreaves left school at 14, went into the retail business when he was 16, and opened the first Matalan store in Preston in 1985.[1] Matalan has over 200 stores in the UK, and employs over 16,000 people. He resigned as chairman of Matalan in November 2007, less than a year after taking the company private.[3] His daughter Maxine purchased British womenswear retailer Fenn Wright Manson for an undisclosed sum on 28 March 2012.[citation needed]
According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2019 his net worth was estimated at £600 million.[4]
Personal life
editHargreaves married aged 19, and has three children, Jason, Jamey, and Maxine.[1]
Hargreaves resides in Monaco with his wife. Alleging non-residence in the UK from March 2000, he claimed that he was not liable to capital gains tax on a gain of £231 million arising on the disposal of Matalan shares in May 2000. This claim was resisted by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the matter was litigated.[5] Hargreaves subsequently accepted that he was not in fact non-resident in 2000/01 and his appeal was dismissed. See John Hargreaves v HMRC [2022] UKUT 00034 (TCC). This meant he could be liable to pay up to £135m.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c Hounslea, Tara (26 November 2015). "The Drapers Interview: The man behind Matalan | The Drapers Interview". Drapersonline.com. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "John HARGREAVES – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ Weston, Alan (19 November 2007). "Man who founded Matalan resigns". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ "Sunday Times Rich List 2019: profiles 201-249". The Times.
- ^ "John Hargreaves and The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs" (PDF). Tribunals.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Advantage HMRC in Matalan founder's long-running tax dispute | TheBusinessDesk.com". North West. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
Further reading
edit- Walsh, Fiona (11 October 2006). "From market trader to chairman of the board". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- Judge, Elizabeth (26 October 2009). "Business big shot: John Hargreaves". The Times. Retrieved 27 October 2009.