Ken Morrison

Sir Kenneth Duncan Morrison CBE

[Ken Morrison]

Executive Chairman, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc.

Notes:

Myton Hall, Myton on Swale, near York, YO6 12QX

DOB 20/10/33

Reputedly the richest man in Yorkshire (28th in the country - Sunday Times Rich List 2000). He owns 7.2% of Wm Morrisons shares personally, with the family holding 38% altogether (Nov 2000). The family are worth £1 billion.

The family firm established in 1899 by dad William and mum Hilda as an Egg & Butter merchants with market stalls in Bradford and Dewsbury. The family lived "in a big house" in West Bowling.

Ken Morrison was the youngest of 6 children. He was educated at Bradford Grammer school, then served his National Service in Germany. He returned in 1952 to take over the family business - then a single store with 3 staff and an annual turnover of £50,000.

The first supermarket established in former Victoria Cinema off Thornton Rd., Girlington in 1962. In 1967 Morrisons was floated on the stock exchange.

In 1989 he bought his current family home, Myton Hall, for £1 million. The Jacobean mansion includes an adjoining farm and 101 acres of land.

Morrison has a son William (24) and daughter Eleanor (26). His wife Edna died in 1993.

He protects his privacy avidly. He declined an invitation to join the board of Bradford City FC in June 1999 as they qualified for the Premier League.

He was knighted for "services to the retail industry" in the 2000 New Years honours list.

Sir Kenneth Duncan Morrison CBE

Notes:

Other Links: