John Hargreaves

John Hargreaves (born January 1944) is a Monaco-based British businessman, the founder and former chairman of the UK out-of-town discount clothing and homeware chain Matalan.

Career John Hargreaves was born in January 1944 in Everton, the son of a docks labourer, one of eight children who all shared one bedroom in a Liverpool terrace house.

Hargreaves left school at 14, went into the retail business when he was 16, and opened the first Matalan store in Preston in 1985. His daughter Maxine purchased British womenswear retailer Fenn Wright Manson for an undisclosed sum on 28 March 2012.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2025, Hargreaves' net worth was estimated to be £350 million.

Personal life Hargreaves married aged 19 and has three children, Jason, Jamey and Maxine. Hargreaves subsequently accepted that he was not in fact non-resident in 2000/01 and his appeal was dismissed. See John Hargreaves v HMRC UKUT 00034 (TCC). This meant he could be liable to pay up to £135 million.