Despite weather resulting in a difficult year for growers, a number of fresh produce industry figures feature on The Sunday Times rich list for 2013.
The list, which accounts for Britain's 1,000 wealthiest citizens, includes potato and vegetable suppliers Ronnie and Alan Bartlett at 851st place, down 74 from last year.
The brothers, who have a combined wealth of £93 million, saw their net worth fall by £4m last year, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, John and Guy Shropshire, owners of £46m salad producer G's Group, saw their combined wealth drop by £24m in 2012, resulting in the brothers falling 194 places to 818th.
Other notable fresh produce suppliers include Nicholas Oughtred, who is chairman of the William Jackson Food Group.The firm, which acquired vegetable box seller Abel & Cole last year, saw profits of £11.1m from sales of £179min 2012. Oughtred, who owns 90 per cent of the business, is ranked 713 on the list, up 151 places from last year.And making his debut on the list, David Randall, who runs Evesham-based vegetable supplier Kanes Foods, secured a ranking of 970. The Randall family is thought to be worth over £75m and Kanes Foods, which recentlyopened a new multi-million pound production facillity, secured profits of £7.5m last year.
On the retail front, Sir Ken Morrison, son of Morrisons founder William Morrison,saw his personal fortune decline by £105m in the last year, resulting in a fall of 17 places to rank 83. The Morrison family currently has a 10 per cent stake in the Bradford-based retailer, which has suffered from poor sales in recent months, worth £654m.
In more positive news, Lord David Sainsbury moved up eight places to 150th. The Sainsbury family, which has an 8.2 per cent stake in the retail giant and is estimated to be worth over £590m, added another £70m to its bank account last year.
David Balch, associate director at accountancy firm Old Mill, said the number of fresh produce businesses in the rich list was a sign of the resilience of the industry. He explained: “It has been a difficult year for producers – bad weather, price pressure and the impact of austerity on consumers has definitely knocked many businesses back.
“But the fresh food sector is an important part of the British economy, and these figures serve as evidence of that strength.”
Furthermore, TV chef Jamie Oliver remains at rank 522, with an unchanged personal fortune of £150m. Profits from the Jamie's Italian restaurant chain rose to £7.2m on sales up 51 per cent to £72m in 2011.Russian billionaire and majority Arsenal FC stakeholder Alisher Usmanov tops The Sunday Times rich list with a personal fortune of over £13 billion.
