BILLIONAIRES and millionaires in East Lancashire have faced mixed fortunes, according to a new wealth league table.

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 it emerged that the number of three-day emergency handouts in the region had risen by 73 per cent over the past five years.

Edenfield-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.

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.”

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.

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.

Leaving aside controversy over their under-development ‘McMansions’ in Billinge End Road, and whether their new HQ at Guide can have an extra floor, 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 opening of a landmark service station at Frontier Park.

Their standing is just above Mahmud Kamani, the founder of discount fashion kings Boohoo, which is one of Burnley’s largest private-sector employers.

His clothing interests, which also include Pretty Little Thing, have seen him clinch 10th spot, though he’s another minor casualty in the table, dropping from seventh in 2018 to 10th now.

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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.

Matt Moulding, the Colne-born founder of the Hut Group, has kept his spot in the top 20, with his coffers rising by £50million to £600million.

His online CD business, which he formed after working for the Caldwell Group with telecoms ace John Caldwell has swelled to 100 e-commerce websites, though he stepped down as executive chairman last year.

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, as well as having the UK’s largest bull stud operation.

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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.

Blackburn Foodbank run by the Trussell Trust, estimates it gave out 8,642 food parcels over the course of a year and their counterparts in Ribble Valley dished out 1,308 packages from bases in Clitheroe and Longridge.

Cllr Phil Riley, a trustee of Blackburn Foodbank, blamed five-week delays with the administration of the controversial universal credit.

But Department of Work and Pensions officials insisted benefits payouts were available on ‘day one’ of any claim being made.