Net World Sports' Alex Lovén named Wales' richest young person

Net World Sports' Alex Lovén is named as the richest young person in Wales in the Sunday Times Rich List.

The 36-year-old, who received an MBE last year, saved up £13,000 from his shifts to kick-off the business, which now sells more than 100,000 football goals a year, more than anyone else in the UK. 

His total wealth now stands at £200 million, meaning he is the 15th richest person under 40 in the UK.  

Mr Lovén set up Net World at aged 22 from his parents’ family home in 2009, having only his dad for assistance in packing and shipping customer orders. The company has since become a global e-commerce business focused on becoming the largest online sports equipment retailer in the world.

Net World Sports, which opened a new £25m, 411,000 sq ft headquarters in Wrexham last year, sells equipment for a wide variety of sports into 100 countries.

The company saw 142 per cent growth between 2019 and 2021, and achieved an annual turnover of £44m in 2020. Its current turnover is £70m with a significant number of sales exported across the globe.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away. 

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy. 

“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.  

“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.”