Liverpool tycoon behind Home Bargains pockets a £1.2bn windfall after a surge in earnings

The Liverpool tycoon behind Home Bargains paid himself £1.2billion last year after a surge in profits.

Tom Morris, dubbed ‘the richest Scouser to have ever lived’ by his hometown press, has grown his discount empire TJ Morris after opening his first shop almost 50 years ago.

The 70-year-old owns 98 per cent of the business and so received the vast majority of a £1.22billion pay-out, according to the group’s accounts.

This was a huge rise on the £36million paid out the year before, to man whose humble beginnings meant he started out as the son of a shopkeeper.

Home Bargains has been able to cash in on shoppers looking for cheaper home goods amid the cost of living crisis, alongside rivals B&M and The Range.

Sales increased 11.7 per cent from £3.76billion to £4.2billion in the year to June 2024, partly because it opened a slew of new stores. This helped profits rise from £336.5million to £454.8million.

Windfall: Tom Morris (pictured) has grown his discount empire TJ Morris after opening his first shop almost 50 years ago

Aged just 21, Morris opened his first store, called Home and Bargain, in Old Swan in east Liverpool in 1976.

He changed the name in 1995 and has expanded heavily in recent years. Now the group has 617 stores and employs around 28,000 people in the UK.

There are plans to open more stores in the next six months and to take the estate to between 800 and 1,000, the accounts said.

Morris has kept himself and his family, including his wife Kristina O’Hare and five children, away from the limelight. 

He and his family were number 25 on last year’s The Sunday Times Rich list, which put their fortune at £6.67billion.

That ranked just behind fast fashion investor Anders Holch Povlsen, who is the largest investor in Asos, and Andrew Currie, the director of chemical company Ineos.

The billionaire has splashed his wealth on a £36m super-yacht called Moskito and a £37million private jet, with M-ORIS spelled out on the tail.

He rarely speaks with the press and has previously left publicity to his brother, Joe, also involved in the business.

Joe said once: ‘[Tom] has a real sense of smell for the retail business. He knows what is going on. The key is good buying. He has an incredible reputation for it.’

Major rival B&M is set to reveal how its trading fared over Christmas today, alongside an update from retailer Marks & Spencer.