Phones 4U. . . and a cool £840m for me

HAVING curly ginger hair and living in a rough area pretty much guaranteed that John Caudwell would suffer at the hands of bullies when he was growing up in the Potteries

Nowadays the hair is hardly visible and the childhood victim has turned into a businessman worth an estimated £840 million.

He has the boys' toys - helicopter, jet, Bentley and yacht - and lives in a 90-room Jacobean mansion that he used to cycle past as a teenager.

But Caudwell, 50, is genuinely surprised that anyone should get excited about the achievements of top businessmen such as him.

'What I have done was for selfish reasons, to provide for myself financially,' says the boss of mobile phones retailer Phones 4U.

Warming to his theme, he says: 'I simply cannot understand why businessmen, actors or pop stars get knighthoods. They are just doing what I did, making their own little pot of gold. I don't see why society should reward them twice.'

Phones 4U is housed in an imposing converted Victorian factory in his home town of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. As one of Britain's richest self-made men, you might have expected the corporate home to be a bit flashier. After all, his firm has a turnover in the billions.

But, unlike some of his rivals in the mobile phones industry, Caudwell prefers to play the role of down-to-earth retailer rather than giant high-tech corporation. And he is also rather keen on keeping his costs as low as possible.

Caudwell's small office, squeezed in alongside his administrative staff and managers, is businesslike and unfussy, more the kind of place where you would expect to find a local car dealer or estate agent.

His is the classic tale of the working-class boy made good. The Caudwell Group, where he owns 97%, runs the Phones 4U chain and is one of the biggest mobile phone retailers in the UK.

He started the business with his brother, Brian, in 1987 as Midland Mobile Phone. By 1991, it had a turnover of £13 million a year. The boom in mobiles took sales through the roof and by 2000 the business, by then called Phones 4U, was taking more than £1 billion a year.

Caudwell's father, who suffered a stroke when his entrepreneur son was only 14 and died four years later, sold engineering products. His mother was a postroom manager and he grew up in the tough Shelton district of the city.

But despite the trappings of wealth now, there is still a sense of restlessness about him. He says he still wants to pilot his jet non-stop around the world, to cycle to Istanbul from Stoke in just two weeks and, of course, continue to expand his business. 'The challenges never get any less,' he says, 'the only difference now is that I am financially secure.

'I wouldn't quite say that I have the same level of passion that I had 20 years ago, but I think that would be a bit unhealthy. I still have a lot more passion than most, though.'

After a decade of dizzying growth in the market, Caudwell admits life is now decidedly more difficult for mobile phone retailers, 'There is not enough room for everyone to survive,' he concedes. 'We have got past the stage when there was heady growth and pretty much anyone coming into the market could succeed. And it is not going to get better any time soon.'

And while his business faces challenges, there have also been problems in Caudwell's private life in recent years. He separated from his wife and mother of his three children a number of years ago and began a relationship with model Claire Johnson, 33, with whom he still lives. But it was a three-month affair with concert violinist Jane Burgess that propelled him into the headlines. He fathered a child, Scarlett, with Burgess last year and is clearly still reluctant to talk about the circumstances.

He steers conversation towards The Caudwell Charitable Trust, set up by him to help sick and needy children in the Stoke area. 'I decided to do something when I met the NSPCC and saw some of the things children were having to put up with,' he says. 'Since we set it up, we have raised £2 million for sick children. That is partly why I organised my sponsored cycle ride to Barcelona last year and am now planning the trip to Istanbul.'

For a man with a reputation in the industry for being aggressive and sometimes bloody-minded, Caudwell has another, altogether softer side - the dutiful son, loyal boss and friend who is happiest with a pint in his hand after a long bike ride.

But despite rumours that he might have had enough and be keen to sell his company, Caudwell insists he is staying put. 'Looking ten or 15 years into the future is a long time, but I am sure you will still be able to buy phones from Phones 4U and I have no plans to go any time soon,' he says.