The billionaire whisky tycoons behind Glenfiddich and Hendrick’s Gin have been named Scotland’s richest family for the sixth year in a row.

Rising profits for William Grant & Sons have seen Glenn Gordon and family maintain their top spot on the Scottish Rich List, compiled by the Sunday Times, which will be published in full this weekend.

The distillery group, which also produces whisky including Grant’s and The Balvenie, is currently run by the founder’s great-great-grandson, the fifth generation of 1887 founder William Grant.

Mr Gordon, who is registered as a resident of Jersey, has overseen a £310 million increase in the family’s wealth in the last year, with profits up by 14.4 per cent at their Banffshire-based distillery.

His family have more than doubled their wealth in six years, up from £1.4 billion in 2013 to £2.9bn, according to the paper.

Oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood, worth £1.763bn, has risen up a rank in the Scottish top 20 to take second place this year, thanks to a £51m increase.

He retains a 0.9% stake, worth £33.7m, in Wood, which he founded and ran for 50 years before retiring in 2012.

A non-mover in fifth place, Bahrain-born Mahdi al-Tajir saw falling profits of £3.3m in 2017 at his Highland Spring mineral water operation. 

Previously working as an ambassador to Britain for the United Arab Emirates, Al-Tajir, 87, has built up his UK interests in industries such as metal trading, gas and oil.

The Thomson family, who were originally in shipping but now run the Dundee-based Beano publisher DC Thomson, have grown their wealth by £49m to £1.401bn and sit seventh on the list.

The Thomsons have continued the success of the Beano, the world’s oldest weekly comic, with the infamous Dennis the Menace is currently starring in a 40-date UK theatre show, and Minnie the Minx has a TV show in development.

People with Scottish connections account for 82 of the 1,000 richest people in Britain, it said, including 11 billionaires worth a combined £17.245bn – a rise of £1.038bn in the last year.

Outside of the billionaires, Ian Taylor, who chairs the world’s largest independent oil trader, Vitol, is Scotland’s second highest riser this year, with £565m in wealth. 

Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “Many Rich Listers are this year nursing big losses due to the uncertainty over Brexit, turbulence on the stock market and the enormous change sweeping through our high streets.

“But more than half of our Scottish Rich List have seen their fortunes rise over the past 12 months – that’s a higher proportion than other parts of the UK.”