MULTI-FACETED businessman and philanthropist, Amit Bhatia, was in the news
recently as he made investment in machine learning-led decarbonisation platform Ecolibrium.
The company raised $5million during the funding round which was co-led by Amit Bhatia‘s Swordfish Investments, alongside several strategic investors.
Earlier, Swordfish Investments funded a US-based tech startup called Tava Health, which provides mental health support services to employees of companies.
Bhatia’s firm invested in several companies that are working on innovative solutions to address climate change and other environmental challenges.
Given the diverse portfolio of businesses and investments held by Swordfish Investments, the company continues to expand its portfolio through new investments and partnerships.
Bhatia’s interests span across sectors such as finance, construction, property and sports. However, the 43-year-old garners more attention for his glamorous job as chairman of Queens Park Rangers (QPR).
Sports was always an integral part in Bhatia’s life.
"My whole life I have been involved in sport – cricket is obviously the number one sport in India so I played it to a quite high level. Then I started to play a bit of tennis and competed at Junior Wimbledon. Now I play golf, a bit of football and a lot of squash. I play anything that I can," he said.
For, family privilege is something that won’t escape any discussion of Bhatia, the scion of a wealthy Delhi real estate clan and son-in-law of billionaire steel tycoon Lakhsmi Mittal.
To Bhatia, however, this personal note is not as important as football and certainly, not as important as the investor that he has become.
Crazy for football, Bhatia bought a stake in Queens Park Rangers football club in 2007. He served as the club’s vice-chairman except for a brief interlude in 2011 and was named chairman in August 2018.
The Mittals had been invited to become financially involved in a number of other English clubs, but Bhatia says he was attracted to QPR for a number of reasons.
"The club felt like an unpolished diamond that just needed a bit of nurturing and caring. There are a lot of people, everyone from the management to the fans, who I felt wanted good things for QPR and I think it has the potential to be great," he said.
Bhatia continued his support for football development in India through the Ashok Bhatia Football Academy, which was established in memory of his father. The academy provides training and support for young footballers in India.
On the importance of community engagement for football clubs, he said: "I think it's absolutely essential that football clubs engage with their local communities. They have a unique ability to bring people together and inspire positive change, and I believe that clubs have a responsibility to use that power for good."
One of Bhatia’s great entrepreneurial successes has been Hope Construction Materials, which was the UK’s largest independent building materials business when it was sold to Breedon plc in 2016. Bhatia joined the board of the newly formed Breedon Group as a director and currently serves the company as non-executive chairman. Additionally, he served on the Advisory Board of Metro Bank in the UK.
Born in London, Bhatia was educated in Delhi at Columba's School until 1995, followed by Dulwich College in London and at the British School in Delhi in 1997. He attended Cornell University where he studied economics. He has since remained involved in alumni matters, now serving on Cornell's External Advisory Council for Internalization. He has lectured at the university's Johnson School for MBA students.
Bhatia began his career at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley in New York and then Credit Suisse First Boston in London. He then incubated Swordfish Investments, a Mayfair-based private equity/venture fund, and Swordfish Capital Management, an investment management company in 2014. Tnvestments included education, media, telecoms, financial services, technology, consumer goods and real estate.
His investment in Finnish start-up Supercell, which developed the epic combat strategy game Clash of Clans, has been another big success. The value of his $500,000 (£369,000) stake has increased manifold when Japanese conglomerate Softbank bought a 50 per cent stake in 2013, valuing the company at $3 billion. He was also an early investor in Dropbox. Bhatia also serves as an executive director of Summix, a property company specialising in development projects across the UK and Ireland. He oversees global investor relations and public affairs at the London-based developer and has been instrumental in launching in 2017 the Summix Capital fund to further enhance their ability to deliver larger and more complex projects.
Bhatia continued his philanthropic work through the Bhatia Foundation, which he established in 2007. In 2021, the foundation donated funds to several causes, including education, healthcare, and disaster relief efforts.
Amit Bhatia and wife announced a donation of £3.5 million to support the development of a new healthcare center in London. The donation was made to the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity, which supports research and care at the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals.
"I believe that philanthropy has the power to make a real difference in the world. Whether it's through supporting education, healthcare, or other important causes, I think that giving back is one of the most meaningful things we can do as individuals and as a society,” he says.
Bhatia is the recipient of Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Theresa May in 2013, Outstanding Young Executive and Young Director of the Year in 2014.
