LEIGH'S famous curry magnates are £21 million richer than last year - and have moved 18 places up the Asian rich list.

Kirit and Meena Pathak are now said to be worth £51 million - a fortune built up from sales of their Patak's range of Indian foods.

The couple, whose business is based in Leigh, appear in 43rd place in the Sunrise Radio Asian Rich List, the official national index of the 300 wealthiest Asians in Britain today.

Their rating is a far cry from their early days, when Mr Pathak's late father Laxmishanker and his wife set up a business making curry sauces at home. Patak's now exports to more than 40 countries worldwide.

A family squabble made the headlines last year when a battle between Kirit Pathak and his sisters over the ownership of an £8 million stake in the family business flared into a High Court drama.

It was settled out of court, with Pathak's sisters receiving shares worth around £8 million.

Mr and Mrs Pathak are one of four Bolton families on the list.

Anwar Patel and family, who run Bolton chemists Gorgemead Ltd, are valued at £33.6 million and placed at 79 on the list. Shailendra Raja and family, from Horwich-based Scan Computers International, are valued at £20 million - a £7 million rise since last year and placed at 112.

Chimanlal and Utamkumar Patel, of Sykes and Frank Taylor Chemists, are valued at £5 million, a £1 million rise since last year, and placed at 280.

Pharmacist Anwar Patel and his brother Yakub, an accountant, set up their first shop in Rochdale 24 years ago and subsequently took over Cohens in Market Street, Little Lever, from where they built their empire.

The brothers now own 107 chemists around the country, including nine in Bolton.

Mr Raja started his company, Scan Computers International, 16 years ago when he had no money, qualifications or staff.

Now a multi-million pound empire, Scan manufactures and markets a range of computer peripherals and systems and does a large part of its business over the internet.

The list is compiled by Philip Beresford, author of the Sunday Times Rich List. The 300 entrepreneurs featured are worth a combined fortune of more than £26 billion - more than double the wealth of last year.