RICHER SOUNDS MILLIONAIRE MAKES STAFF RICHER, TOO!

THE founder of hi-fi chain Richer Sounds has given 60pc of the company to his staff – as well as thousands of pounds in bonuses.

Julian Richer transferred the stake to a trust which will be run on behalf of the 531 employees at his 53 stores.

The tycoon, 60, is being paid £9.2m by Richer Sounds for the shares. He is giving £3.5m of this back to workers, or £1,000 for every year each of them has been with the company.

The average payout will be £8,000, but 39 people with more than two decades of service will get at least £20,000. Richer started the company in 1978 when he was 19.

He told the Guardian newspaper: ‘My father dropped down dead at 60 so I am very keen for this to happen in my lifetime. I still really care but it is time for the next generation.’

Richer, who moonlights as a drummer in funk band Ten Millennia, pictured, has long championed fair treatment for staff. His firm does not use zero-hours contracts, and it gives employees access to companyowned holiday homes in Paris, Venice, Barcelona and elsewhere.