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Shia Imami Ismaili Council in UK gets Asian businessman as president

AN ASIAN businessman has been appointed the president of His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for the UK.

Naushad Jivraj took over the role on July 11 and will serve a three-year term.


Jivraj is the CEO of Queensway Group, a family business founded in the 1970s with interests in the real estate and franchise sectors.

The company are franchisees of the Starbucks brand in the UK with 14 stores and the KFC brand in Austria and Slovakia where they operate 10 stores.

They also own and operate seven Point A Hotels in London, two in Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow) and one under development in Dublin.

Recently, Queensway Group acquired The Sloane Club, a private members’ club, in London Chelsea in partnership with Clearbell Capital.

In his new role, which is a voluntary position, Jivraj’s remit includes the UK as well as Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

He will be responsible for the welfare of 18,000 Ismaili Muslims and the council whose teams focus on education, economic planning, legal matters and health, among others.

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Black Friday

Britons are expected to spend £9.52bn over this year's four-day Black Friday weekend

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Black Friday bargains 'not always the cheapest', survey finds

Highlights

  • Research tracked 175 products across eight major retailers over 12 months.
  • Britons expected to spend £9.52bn over four-day Black Friday weekend.
  • 77 per cent of small businesses reject participation, up from 69 per cent last year.
Shoppers hunting for bargains this Black Friday may be disappointed, as new research reveals the heavily promoted discounts often fail to deliver the year's best prices.

Consumer group Which? compared prices for 175 home, tech and health appliances across eight retailers, including Amazon and John Lewis, tracking them over a full year from May 2024 to May 2025. The investigation found that on Black Friday 2024, none of the items examined were at their cheapest price over the surrounding 12-month period.

The findings cast doubt on the annual shopping event's promise of unbeatable deals. Britons are expected to spend £9.52bn over this year's four-day Black Friday weekend, 4.2 per cent more than last year, according to separate research from Vouchercodes.

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