Rich List 2018: No.26 - Jeremy Peace

Finance/Football 
2018: No.26 - £200m 
2017: No.23 - £200m

After nearly 16 years at the club Jeremy Peace sold his 88 per cent share of West Bromwich Albionfootball club in 2016, netting more than £175 million. The club was bought by Guochuan Lai's (qv) Shanghai-based Sports Development Ltd.

Aged 61, Jeremy Peace is certainly true to his roots, having been a lifelong Baggies supporter. He was born and bred in West Bromwich and later attended Shrewsbury School.

He began his career in accountancy before moving into stock-broking and investment banking. Until 1991 he was director and major shareholder of Morlands Securities PLC, and then Sangers Photographics which later become the Quadrant Group. He has investments in a range of other PLCs and has a stake in construction company SigmaRoc worth £2 million.

He became chairman of the Baggies in 2002, taking over from Paul Thompson. The company went private in 2005, with Jeremy Peace becoming the major shareholder. In 2013 he transferred his then 59.9 per cent shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Ltd into a new company - West Bromwich Albion Holdings Ltd.

He had a reputation as a hands-on owner who could take a hard line, such as when he sacked head coach Steve Clarke who took Albion to eighth place in 2013.

In his tenure as chairman Albion became one of the most stable Premiership clubs with a flourishing academy and good ground facilities.

In his final year in charge at West Bromwich Albion Holdings he received a £1.95 million pay package.