Inside luxury life of ‘Del Boy billionaire’ who saved Wilko… from council estate to £250k Bentley & 30-acre mansion
THE ‘Del Boy billionaire’ who saved Wilko’s brand name with a last-minute offer grew up on a council estate and couldn’t read until he was 27.
Entrepreneur Chris Dawson, 71, now lives the high life with luxuries including a £250,000 Bentley and 30-acre mansion.
And he claims to be exactly like Only Fools and Horses legend Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter.
Speaking about the programme, he has said: “I actually had that life. You think, b***** me, I’ve said that, done that.”
And he owns a £250,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe that sports £35,000 DE11 BOY number plates.
He’s also been involved in a string of controversies over where he chooses to park his motors.
Mr Dawson was slammed in 2019 for blocking the disabled access of his flagship Plymouth The Range store with his £200,000 Ferrari.
Now, the billionaire has agreed to take on Wilko’s brand name in a £5million deal.
It will see The Range take on the Wilko website – but all shops will close for good.
Mr Dawson grew up far from the seven-figure sums he now throws around conference rooms.
The hustler – now worth £2.25 billion – was raised alongside his two brothers on a council estate in Hooe, Plymouth.
They lived with their labourer dad Thomas and cleaner mum, Elsie.
The home was so poverty-stricken Mr Dawson didn’t own his first pair of underpants until he was 12.
He was 27 before he learnt to read – and he still can’t write.
But he knew he wanted to make money.
As a seven-year-old he sold ice-creams before taking on three paper rounds – subcontracting two to friends.
Early morning wake-up calls for military officers and selling teas to builders also brought in much-needed funds.
Later, he’d become a scrap metal dealer.
Mr Dawson took any leftovers from his school technology class and when caught was told by a teacher “you’ll end up in prison or very rich”.
He was once invited into the world of showbiz as a warm-up act for Little and Large.
When told he’d earn £500, he said: “I can earn that in an hour.”
Turning market seller, he flogged watches from a briefcase.
Then he sold anything he could find – including seafood from the back of a van.
It was during this time he met his wife, Sarah. He’d sold her a watch and then chased her for top-up payments.
Now they’ve been married for 40 years.
As profit started to pour in he opened his first The Range superstore at Sugar Mill business park in Plymouth in 1989.
The “working man’s John Lewis” soon started sprouting up across the country selling everything from bedding to garden supplies.
It now boasts 210 stores around the UK and Ireland.
Using his own helicopter, Mr Dawson was said to visit ten of his stores every day to keep an eye on his business.
Swerving his inability to write, he communicates through early-morning conference calls.
And his two kids have followed him into the business.
Lisa, in her 30s, works as a buyer for the company. And Christopher, also in his 30s, works in store refits.
Mr Dawson’s younger brother still lives in the home where they were raised.
Separate deals with B&M and Poundland mean 122 stores employing 3,200 staff will reopen under those names.
But the majority of the 12,500-strong workforce are set to lose their jobs.
Alex Simpkin, chief executive officer of The Range said: “This acquisition comes at a time when consumers are more than ever wanting to shop with confidence for value and quality, we are delighted to have acquired this brand and we will ensure that the Wilko brand will continue to deliver for the UK consumer, both in-store and on-line.”
The CEO added that the company is “delighted” to have saved the digital team members’ jobs.
Mr Dawson said: “These are exciting times for The Range Group, I am delighted that Wilko will join our family of companies.
“We will drive it forward as fast as we can as we expand the entire business from our continuing store opening programme to our new 1.2million square foot distribution centre that is being constructed in the south of England.”
Poundland agreed to buy 71 shops from Wilko earlier this week, adding that former workers would be first in the line for new jobs.
Wilko collapsed into administration back in August after failing to find new backing for the business.
Meanwhile, we reveal the full list of Wilko stores Poundland has bought.
Plus, here is the full list of 124 stores due to shut next week and the 52 closing their doors over the coming days.