Victoria Beckham has been named the UK's most successful entrepreneur of 2014. The former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer topped the list compiled for business magazine Management Today, based on strong sales, the number of jobs she has created and her estimated overall wealth. "She's got a real business, some design talent and some business nous," said Andrew Saunders, deputy editor at the magazine.
"She gets a lot of stick for being a celeb fashionista but I don't think that's fair. She has built something real out of her own celebrity which is quite a contemporary story. She deserves to be celebrated." In just five years, the turnover of Victoria's fashion business has risen from £1million to £30million in just five years. And last month, the mother-of-four opened her first boutique in London's Dover Street, taking her employee number to 100.
Philip Beresford, who compiled the list, commented: "It is her finely tuned business acumen that wins her the top spot." Victoria launched her fashion label in 2008. In 2011, she won Designer Brand of the Year at the prestigious British Fashion Awards.
The same year, she introduced a diffusion line, Victoria by Victoria Beckham. Victoria fought off tough competition to top the list. In second place was Amit & Meeta Patel, founders of pharmaceutical group Auden Mckenzie. Third place went to Mahmud Kamani, the man behind online fashion retailer Boohoo.com, who is worth £290million.