Bill Adderley

William Adderley
Born	Template:Birth year and age Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Known for	Founder of Dunelm Group

William Adderley (born February 1948) is a British entrepreneur and the founder of Dunelm Group, a home furnishings retailer listed on the FTSE 250 Index.

Early life

Born in February 1948 on a council estate in Leeds, Yorkshire, Adderley left formal education at the age of 16 with only basic qualifications.

Career

Adderley initially worked as a manager at a Woolworths outlet in Coalville. In 1979, after being requested to move location, he decided to leave and, together with his wife Jean, started selling curtains that had been rejected by Marks and Spencer from a market stall in Leicester. Their first dedicated home furnishings shop, Dunelm Mill, was established in 1984. In 2006, at the age of 58, Adderley stepped down from daily operations, passing leadership to his son Sir William (“Will”) Adderley; this transition coincided with the company’s initial public offering.

By October 2013, Adderley had become the largest private investor in Marks & Spencer, holding shares worth £250 million. He subsequently divested most of this holding and in 2017 acquired shares in Morrisons.

Currently, Dunelm runs 180 outlets throughout the UK and maintains an online sales platform. The Adderley family continues to hold about 43% of the company’s shares.

Wealth

The Sunday Times Rich List estimated Adderley’s net worth at £1.78 billion in 2022.

Personal life

He and his wife Jean have two sons: Will, who acts as director and deputy chairman of Dunelm Group plc, and Jonathan, who does not participate in the business operations.