Rise of new king of the High Street

PHILIP Day, 52, is seen by some as the new king of the High Street.

The father-of-three ( pictured) grew up on a Manchester council estate and left school at 16. He got a job at textile business Viyella, before moving to tailors Wensum and fashion label Aquascutum. He remortgaged his home to help private equity firm Rutland Partners buy Edinburgh Woollen Mill in 2001, and later bought out its share.

Though he avoids publicity, he gave a recent interview in which he told how he believes the High Street will survive the rise of the web giants, saying: ‘I actually think it’s going to flip the other way. People like to shop.’