27 Brian King managing director, Trust Inns (new entry) Trevor Hemmings millionaire leisure tycoon (new entry)

Why they are on the list:

Entrepreneur Trevor Hemmings, whose empire embraces pubs, hotels, fun parks, Blackpool Tower, construction companies and racecourses, is a major shareholder in Scottish & Newcastle UK and Trust Inns, the 580-strong community pubs chain run by managing director King.

What the last year has held:

Trust Inns was already a key operator of tenanted pubs across the UK before its £101m purchase of 102 Mitchells & Butlers pubs last October. The deal underlined Trust's aim to operate an estate of beer-led community houses and King has been working hard to ensure his licensees are fully prepared for the smoking ban. He has also launched a small managed division.

The year also saw Hemmings change the management of his loss-making Herald Inns & Bars business, which operates the Brannigans chain.

Challenges ahead:

King is in no doubt about the importance of a strategic battle plan to combat the smoking ban on 1 July. His pubs are the ones most likely to be hit by the ban because of their beer-led operations, so there have been detailed preparations to assist licensees in a variety of different smoking schemes.