Meenu Malhotra appointed as Honorary Consul of India

THE chairman of Malhotra Group PLC, Meenu Malhotra DL, has been appointed as the first-ever Honorary Consul of India for the North East. Indian high commissioner to the UK, Vikram K Doraiswami, made the announcement on Friday (30).

Under the new role, Malhotra will focus on building links across industries such as pharmaceuticals and green energy, and promoting cultural, political, and tourism initiatives between the UK and India.

Malhotra has been an informal supporter of international students for over 20 years. In his new role, he will also help businesses in the North East to engage with India.

“It is a great honour to be able to represent both countries,” said Malhotra.

The new offices for the Consulate of India have been set up in the former Parrish’s department store on Shields Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, now renamed ‘India House’. The building was officially opened by the high commissioner on Friday.

Over the past 45 years, Malhotra has supported the Indian community and diaspora in North East England and in India.

According to a statement, the entrepreneur has worked closely with the Consul General Offices in Birmingham for over a decade and looks forward to strengthening this relationship to benefit communities in the North East of England.

Mal­ho­tra’s fam­ily migrated 43 years ago from Lud­hi­ana in Pun­jab, India, and settled in Eng­land. He came to the UK soon after com­plet­ing school. He honed his trad­ing and busi­ness skills early in life. Des­pite being born in a wealthy fam­ily, he star­ted his life in UK humbly, first as a paper shop boy and then with a drapery shop.

Invest­ing his sav­ings, Mal­ho­tra star­ted acquir­ing prop­er­ties to have a side rental income. By 1986, he already had acquired his first care home.

Form­ally estab­lished in 1991, Mal­ho­tra Group PLC deals in the prop­erty, leis­ure and care seg­ment, par­tic­u­larly in the north­east parts of the UK while its Indian arm, Mal­ho­tra Realty Private Lim­ited (MRPL), is a real estate developer explor­ing oppor­tun­it­ies in India.

Now, he is leading a series of major developments, starting with the acquisition of Imperial Golf Estate, a 300-acre, 18-hole golf course in Ludhiana, Punjab, purchased through India's National Company Law Tribunal.

The project will involve a £150 million investment to develop over 700 villas and apartments, a shopping mall with various outlets, a health farm with spa facilities, and a luxury hotel.

Another project, The Wilton, is a 2,000,000 sq ft city centre development in Ludhiana, featuring a shopping mall, hotel, cinema, and 600 homes, which is already underway. The third project, Malhotra Square, also in Ludhiana, is a £10-12m development with 111 shops.

In the UK, Malhotra Group is known for its growing presence in hospitality, with investments in restaurants, bars, and hotels. The group, opear­at­ing under the ban­ner of Prestwick Care, also owns and man­ages more than a dozen care homes in New­castle, Sun­der­land, Durham, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Northum­ber­land.

He and his family were ranked 86th in the Asian Rich List 2024, published by Eastern Eye, with an estimated wealth of £150m.