UK's 128th richest man buys a part of Wigan Warriors

Michael Danson has acquired at least a quarter of the club for £2.5m.

Documents lodged with the government state the 57-year-old has become a "person with significant control".

There has been no official confirmation from the Warriors and chairman - and majority owner - Ian Lenagan did not respond to an invitation to comment.

Danson, who was born in Wigan, is listed at number 128 on this year's Sunday Times' rich list with a fortune estimated at £1.17bn.

He owns two-thirds of information provider GlobalData, holdings valued at around £870m, and previously made £193m from the company he founded, Datamonitor.

He moved into media, buying the New Statesman and Press Gazette, and his entry in the Sunday Times rich list says he owns a £24m six-storey New York mansion which once belonged to Michael Jackson.

Although his involvement with Wigan has not been published, his name appeared on a list of 'ultimate beneficial owners' - along with Lenagan, his sister Ann and his son Simon - on the Open Corporates directory website.

Subsequent checks of the government's Companies House documents show no change to the ownership or directors list at Wigan RL.

But, interestingly, the company which ultimately owns the majority of the Warriors - Lenagan Investments Limited - does report Danson did become a "person with significant control" on July 29.