Asian business fortunes rise

by SAILESH RAM

ASIAN business is very much on the rise and smashing through barriers, as the latest generation of entrepreneurs make their mark on the British economy.

The most comprehensive annual survey of Asian wealth in Britain – the Asian Rich List – found the community’s richest business owners have increased their wealth by just over £3 billion compared to last year.

The list, compiled by Eastern Eye’s specialist team of accountants, business analysts and senior journalists, will be unveiled at the glittering Asian Business Awards in London on

Friday (22).

It promises to be a night not just of celebration for the businesses and entrepreneurs nominated for awards, but also a wider recognition of the prowess and resilience of many of the UK’s most successful enterprises.

It comes despite the huge challenges around Brexit, a faltering global economy and anxiety about how the US and China will resolve their differences on international trade.

The list profiles the UK’s 101 richest Asians and their families. Now in its 10th edition, it contains a number of interviews with leading wealth creators from the community.

Zameer Choudrey, CEO of the Bestway Group, a mixed sector group comprising wholesalers, pharmacies and convenience stores, as well as banking and cement manufacturing abroad, gave a sobering assessment of the current economic climate.

He told the Asian Rich List: “The market is bad and everybody is under pressure, including us. It’s the environment itself – austerity, funding cuts, uncertainty. The UK economy is not doing that great.”

Choudrey is on the frontline of Britain’s economy, in high streets and villages, and supplies to small shopowners up and down the land.

Estimated to be worth £1.1bn and ranked 12 on the list, he said these bad conditions, however, had also created “opportunities” and that businesses like his could afford to invest and take a positive long-term view. Bestway acquired Conviviality, Palmer & Harvey and

AF Blackmore – all firms that had gone under but were rescued by his own company

last year.

His analysis of UK plc is borne out by the list itself with many entrepreneurs choosing to grow and develop where opportunities present themselves.

• The latest Asian Rich List reveals:

  The Hinduja family remains at the top of the pile with an estimated wealth of £23.1bn. They are among the entrepreneurs who have added most to their wealth in a year – it increased by £1.1bn.

• There are 13 billionaires on the new list, one more than last year.
• Among the highest risers is Nirmal Sethia, who has risen to fourth place from 35 in 2018.
• The power of disruptors is reflected by Rishi Khosla, co-founder of online OakNorth bank, whose wealth increased by £200 million.
• Mahmud Kamani, owner of boohoo.com, continues his meteoric rise, now pushing towards a £1bn brand from his online clothing outlets.
• Joginder and Girish Sanger are the highest new entries on the list at =40 with a wealth of £300m. They run a central London-based hotel group; many hoteliers have benefited from a rise in tourism as the pound fell across the world.
• Overall wealth has increased by just over £3 bn to £83bn in total.
• To make it onto the list of the country’s 101 richest Asians, businesses had to

  have publicly identifiable wealth of at least £95m (an increase of £5m on last

  year’s entry point).

Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of the Asian Rich List and the Asian Media Group, which publishes both Eastern Eye and the list, said he was taken aback by just how much and how many Asian businesses had increased their wealth over the year.

“What comes out from working on the list in depth is the strength of Asian businesses

across the board – of course, we are looking at the top end,” Solanki said.

“Many enterprises remain under pressure, but our list shows that Asian entrepreneurs

are adept and smart at riding challenges and coming out the other side. They continue to innovate, take risks, expand into new markets and adapt in the face of wider difficulties and issues. It is both humbling and inspiring.”

The continuing uncertainty of Brexit has posed a test for many firms, but a high number of Asian-led enterprises on the list are focused on global markets. They stand poised to take advantage of new trading arrangements in the long term, especially if Brexit becomes a reality.

Solanki added: “You have to remember that many are immigrants to Britain and are used to facing issues not always under their control.

“But what comes through is that these business owners have a longterm vision and are not

frightened of developing markets or heading into the unknown. They also tend to be patient and pragmatic, and are shrewd investors in technology, talent and innovative business practices.”

The Hinduja family’s strength comes from their myriad businesses, from the manufacture

of car parts and truck and bus production to banking and finance. A global group spanning

many countries and several different sectors, they see opportunity and scope where others often sense problems and deterrents. They are already eyeing up supplying parts to Aston Martin, the British luxury sports car manufacturer and the car that is commonly associated

with James Bond.

Brexit and other pressures are forcing British companies to look further afield than they might traditionally, and Indian car manufacturing capacity continues to grow apace.

Gopi Hinduja, the co-chairman of the Hinduja Group was unequivocal. “Our entrepreneurial DNA gets charged up by challenging opportunities where entry barriers are high.

“Our existing portfolio of companies is all in the sunrise sectors. Our focus is on banking and financial services, healthcare and of course, philanthropy.”

When it comes to investing in new business models and upsetting convention, Asian entrepreneurs seem to have the appetite for it.

Kamani started off on a hunch in 2006, having worked on a market stall with his father in his youth, and went straight to the online space. Almost overnight the retail fashion industry changed and boohoo was at the forefront of it.

Khosla was a successful owner of a business processing outsourcing company, but he was denied a loan by traditional lenders who demanded collateral. So he and business partner Joel Perlman created OakNorth Bank, a bank for entrepreneurs and created by them. His

evaluation arose on the back of a £200m growth from new business and he is now worth £600m on his own.

Sethia’s rise has more to do with new information than any material rise in wealth. He comes from one of India’s foremost industrial families, but he is not one to sit back and enjoy the high life. Now in his 70s and active in charity – his company is substantially

owned by the N Sethia Foundation, a registered charity with a global reach – he has made Newby Teas a household name.

Solanki explained: “He is a more recent entry into the list and has businesses both in India and the UK. We are just getting to know more about them.”

Sethia began his working life as a tea taster and trader and only returned to the family fold when it was clear he excelled in his chosen path. He took over a tea estate in Assam with the help of his father, and more latterly, a jute business. Newby Teas was inspired by his

nephews, and when it ran into difficulties early on, Sethia, supported by his late wife Chitra, saw it through. Today his tea empire is expanding into the US at a rapid rate.

• Full coverage of the Asian Business Awards in next week’s issue.
• Copies of the Asian Rich List are available to buy. Contact Saurin Shah on 020 76547737

  or email s a u r i n.s h a h @amg.biz

• Guests at the Asian Business Awards on Friday will receive a complimentary copy.