Bill Adderley

William Adderley (known as Bill) was born on a Council Estate in February 1948[1] in Leeds, Yorkshire.[2] He is a devout Roman Catholic. Adderley left school at 16, with a basic education level. He was a boyhood fan of Leeds United

Adderley was a manager at a Woolworths store[3] in Coalville, but left in 1979 after the company wanted him to relocate to its Skegness store.[2]

In 1979, while looking for a new job, Adderley and his wife Jeany sold curtains which had been rejected by Marks and Spencer, from a stall in Leicester market. In 1984, they opened their first home furnishings store, calling it Dunelm.[4][2] He retired from Dunelm at the age of 50 and left the growth of the company in the capable hands of his son William and, at this time, the company floated in 2006.

In October 2013, The Guardian commented that Adderley had become the largest private shareholder in Marks & Spencer, having built a stake valued at £250 million.[3]

According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 his net worth was estimated at £1.47 billion, an increase of £49 million from 2019.[5]

Adderley has sold most of his stake in Marks & Spencer and has bought a stake in Morrisons.[6][7]

Currently, Dunelm operates in 140 stores across the UK and runs an ecommerce business.[8] The Adderley family stil owns approximately 55% of the shares.[9]

He is married to Jeany[4] and has two sons (a daughter died in infancy) and four grandchildren. As well as playing golf in South Africa, Ireland and Spain, he is a member of Luffenham Heath Golf Club and swears by the golf club brand Turin.[2] Apart from golf, he has a penchant for luxury; Bentley Continental Cars, high end properties, mid- to late-20th century art, Victorian antiques and Murano Glass, which he gifts. His son, William Lester Adderley, was a director of Dunelm Group and has recently become involved with a Financial Investment Company.[1] His other son, Jonathan, was not involved in Dunelm, due to only one sibling being able to lead the company.

They live near Wittering, Lincolnshire at Thornhaugh and have homes in Ireland, Spain and Central London.

Adderley donated £500,000 to the Conservative Party through his company WA Capital Limited during the 2019 United Kingdom general election.[10][11] Adderley is also a Brexit supporter and donated to the Brexit campaign[12]