Alan and Wendy English

The former owner of a major national chain of conference centres, Alan English was the money behind the £24 million 174 bedroom Hotel La Tour, which opened in Birmingham in 2012. Alan and his wife Wendy had a 57 per cent stake in Milton Keynes-based Hayley Conference Centres. Alan was a director of the business for seven years. In 2007 the company was sold to Principal Hotels for £358 million.