Rich list rates Rigby as top channel earner

SCH chairman ranks higher than any other channel leader in Sunday Times list of UK?s richest men

Peter Rigby, chairman of Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH), has been named the UK?s 44th richest person and the wealthiest man in the channel by The Sunday Times rich list.

Worth #350 million, Rigby, who started Birmingham-based SCH with #2,000 savings, has overtaken his last year?s position of 55th place, when he was valued at #100 million less.

Paul Sykes, the main shareholder in hardware vendor and online service provider Planet Group, is the next IT person on the list, having gone up a place from last year?s position of 72nd, with a price tag of #250 million.

Pace Micro Technology?s founder, David Hood, and Robert Madge, who founded his network company 11 years ago, were both rated as the country?s 93rd richest men, valued at #200 million.

Amstrad chairman Alan Su-gar?s rating (110) was not so much due to his stake in the computer firm, which has shrunk to #60 million, but to his #51 million share in Tottenham Hotspur, whose shares are strong.

Other industry leaders in the top 1,000 were: Wilf Corrigan, chairman at LSI logic (#160 million); Sir Peter Michael, head of Micro Consultants (#110 million); David Potter, founder of Psion (#90 million); Computacenter?s founders Philip Hulme and Peter Ogden (both worth #70 million); Sage founders Graham Wylie (#66 million) and David Goldman (#53 million); Time Computer directors Tahir Mohsan and Tariq Mohammed (#50 million); Elonex founder Israel Wetrin (#45 million); Steve King, chairman of Datrontech (#28 million); and Sir Stanley Kalms, chairman of Dixons (#25 million).