The stories behind the region’s wealth

But none of the quartet featured in the North West edition of the Sunday Times Rich List will be heading to a pay day loans company any time soon.

The figures have been released just days after the launch of a new members-only food pantry in Bolton, for those struggling to make ends meet.

The Bolton-based Warburton family has kept its places in the North West rankings, despite falling bread sales and bread production being stopped at one of their north-east factories in 2018.

Brett, Ross and John Warburton have seen their fortunes rise just slightly, by £5million to £550million.

Robert Watts, the rich list’s compiler, said: “It’s easy to get the impression that the rich only ever getter richer – but three of the five wealthiest entries in our North West Rich List have actually seen the size of their fortunes fall over the past year.

“The super-rich certainly have not been immune to the cyclone of change blowing through the high street or the political deadlock over Brexit.”

Bury-born John Whittaker, the Peel Holdings mogul, saw his fortune dwindle by an estimated £300million, thanks to the vagaries of the high street.

His 27.32 per cent stake in Intu, which owns the giant Trafford Centre, was damaged by two failed bids, reducing his investment to £393.4million.

This and other factors saw his estimated wealth dip from £2.25billion to £1.95billion.

Whittaker can seek solace with the Arora family, the B&M Bargains magnates, now thought to be £40million poorer, and Salford bookmakers John and Fred Done, £100million year-on-year losers.

Another retail kingpin, Tom Morris, who is behind Home Bargains, has fared better, with his £3.59billion pile ranked second in the region, increasing by £100million annually.

Boohoo fashion king Mahmud Kamani has also secured a top 10 entry, with his wealth pegged at £1.16billion, up £163million on last year.

Mortgage lender Henry Moser, originally from Bury also, has maintained his top 10 berth, with an extra £218million being added to his £1.22billion balance.

Starting life as a market trader, he began his own business in 1974 and eventually added the Lancashire Mortgage Corporation and Cheshire Mortgage Corporation to his portfolio before establishing Jerrold Holdings several years ago.

Mr Watts added: “The billionaires Tom Morris and Philip Day illustrate that there is still money to be made from conventional retail.

“But Mahmud Kamani and Lawrence Jones are showing with Boohoo and UKFast that the North West has cutting edge online retail and tech firms with the potential to create many jobs for decades to come.

Meanwhile brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the Blackburn brains behind the Euro Garages empire, have had another stellar year, with their bank balances swelled by around £100million. Their pile is now said to be a combined £1.2billion.

Major inroads have been made in mainland Europe, America and Australia in the past 12 months by the Issas, as well as the openings of landmark service stations such as Frontier Park on the M65.

Elsewhere there’s little surprise over the identity of the man topping the table, with Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, easily outstripping the competition.

The family fortune has been boosted by £136million, though young Hugh remains in his accountancy job with London coffee recycler Bio-Bean, instead of taking over at the helm of the Grosvenor Group.

Their assets stretch from super-rich Mayfair and Belgravia in London to property in Cheshire, Oxford, Scotland and Spain.

All of which is a far cry from the day-to-day problems faced by clients of Lucie’s Pantry, which was launched by the charity Emmaus at the end of April.

Tony Stephenson, the charity’s executive lead, said: “The number of people who are short of food is in the thousands but it’s a bit like homelessness, there’s an awful lot of people who are struggling out there who are below the radar.”

In order to remove the stigma attached to food banks, the fledgling venture is being run on a members-only basis for a small fee.