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Southall Travel boss heads travel wealth league in Sunday Times list

Southall Travel founder Kuljinder Bahia and his family head the top wealthiest people in travel in the UK, according to the 2015 Sunday Times Rich list.


Bahia rose from 325 to 307th in the annual listing with an estimated wealth of £336 million, up by £38 million over last year.


Trailfinders founder Mike Gooley also saw his position in the list rise to 319th place following a £70 million year-on-year increase in wealth to £320 million.


Former Gullivers Travel Associates co-founder David Babai, who returned to the industry in 2012 as chairman of G2 Travel, is ranked third in the travel sub-section with wealth of £220 million.


Airtours founder David Crossland and his family are worth £200 million, followed by Saga chairman Andrew Goodsell with £195 million, down by £103 million over the previous year.


Abercrombie & Kent’s Geoffrey Kent saw his wealth drop by £83 million to £190 million, according to the list.


Gold Medal Travel Group founder Ken Townsley, who collected £47.5 million from the sale of the operator in 2009, saw his wealth rise by £2 million to £160 million.


Big Bus Tours founders Richard, Desmond and Eleanor Maybury are new to the list with a fortune of £155 million.


Edward Faith and Uzi Kattan, other co-founders of Gullivers Travel Associates, are both worth £125 million after the business was sold for £570 million.


Lotus Group boss Peter Stephens was also on £125 million, followed by Riviera Travel founder Michael Wright and family at £120 million and the creators of Ebookers Dinesh and Tani Dhamija on £100 million.

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