GREENOCK businessmen Sandy and James Easdale have today been named among the 10 richest people in Scotland.

The bus and property tycoons, aged 54 and 51 respectively, are the wealthiest newcomers on the newly-released list - with their fortune put at a staggering £1.363 billion.

This places them eighth on the Scottish rich list compiled annually by the Sunday Times.

Danish man Anders Holch Povlsen, with £6.5 billion, is the richest person in Scotland according to the study.

The Easdales, who have steadily built up a huge empire of investments in Inverclyde and elsewhere, are among a record 177 billionaires in the UK this year, up six from 2021.

The study compilers said: "There are 10 billionaires at the head of the 2022 Scottish Rich List with combined wealth of £23.054 billion.

"Greenock brothers Sandy and James Easdale are the wealthiest newcomers to the Scottish Rich List, with a £1.363 billion fortune based upon transport and property acquisitions."

The brothers came to national prominence initially through their ownership of McGill's Buses, which has grown rapidly over the last decade following its purchase of Arriva Scotland West in a landmark takeover.

In 2020 the company became the biggest independent bus operator in the UK after clinching another major purchase which took its workforce to around 1,200 employees.

Back in 2020 it was reported that a 'conservative estimate' would value the Easdales' property and transportation empire at over £500m, without looking at the brothers' holdings in other sectors.

Their stake in a massive property development in Glenrothes has been valued at £250m and they also snapped up an extensive waterfront site near Dumbarton for another big construction project.

Closer to home the McGill's bosses are behind the major plans for a transformation of the former IBM site at Spango Valley in Greenock which would see hundreds of houses built there.

The deal would be worth £100m, but the pair recently warned it could be at risk after a limit was imposed by Inverclyde Council on the number of properties which can be constructed on the site.

The Tele recently reported how the brothers are considering an appeal to the Scottish Government over that decision.

As well as being the owners of Inverclyde Taxis, the Easdales run the window manufacturer Saveheat Group and have pumped money into Greenock firm Blairs Windows & Doors since saving it over a decade ago.

They got the go-ahead from the council last year for a new £1.5m drive-through coffee shop along the A8 corridor in Greenock which is expected to create 50 new jobs and have been on a major expansion of their local property portfolio over recent years, purchasing office blocks and industrial premises across the area.

Further afield, they bought the former Watt Brothers department store in Glasgow two years ago - with plans recently unveiled for a £20m boutique hotel at the historic Sauchiehall Street site.

They were previously significant shareholders in Rangers FC and had looked at buying ailing English side Derby County last year before withdrawing their interest.

Last November Sandy Easdale said: "My brother James and I and our consortium continue to actively examine other opportunities in English football.”

The Sunday Times Rich List - www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list - charts the wealth of the 250 richest individuals in the UK and is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property and other assets or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.