Property
2015: No.40 £90m
2014: No.35 £90m

Graham Whateley, aged 71, has been in the property business for around 50 years. He is chairman of the Halesowen-based Cedar Group – a property investment firm he set up 40 years ago – and beneficiary of several trusts with net assets of around £45 million.

Cedar has commercial, industrial and retail and residential properties around the country including Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Wolverhampton, Kidderminster, Sutton Coldfield and Bath. In addition it has mining, oil and residential interests.

In 2005 he was a co-founder of Local Shopping REIT PLC, the first independent real estate investment trust to be listed in the UK. He floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in May 2007. Local Shopping REIT is capitalised at £65 million. In the six months to March 2014 Local Shopping REIT made a profit of £1.75 million compared to a loss of £1.5 million for the same period the previous year. The company owns 630 properties valued at £173 million with an annual rental income of £15.2 million. Graham Whateley was non-executive chairman up until October 2014.

He founded property company Castlemore Securities 42 years ago. The company had assets of £220 million before it fell victim to the downturn in the property market in 2009.

He is a former non-executive director stockbroker Arden Partners which he floated on the AIM in 2006. He provided the capitalisation for Arden from its foundation in 2002 till its flotation in October 2007. Arden was responsible for floating 10 Indian energy companies and Whateley retains an interest in three of them.

He is also non-executive chairman of Castle Marinas which operates 9,000 berths on inland and coastal marina sites valued at £45 million.

Married to Diana for 40 years, they have three children. They have homes in Worcestershire, the French Alps and Majorca. He is involved in many charitable activities, including support for the Duke of Edinburgh Outward Band scheme and Emmaus, a charity for the homeless set up by Terry Waite. He also supports Help for Heroes and cancer charities.

He is a keen supporter of Shellford Rangers, a youth football team in Halesowen for whom he supplies the kit. Both he and his wife are enthusiastic racehorse owners and have had success with their horses Menorah and Tornado Bob.