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THE EMPIRE STRIKES IT RICH
The rise of Asian—mainly Indian—entrepreneurs in the UK is a staggering success story, a story so big that a university has latched on to it in order to dissect the causes of this phenomenon of rags to riches that is so often happening in this country
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By Rakesh K. Simha
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Dilbag Singh came to Britain from India in 1962 after hopping jobs in a textile mill, a foundry and as a bus conductor. In the UK, his wife Gurmail Kaur started making clothes from home in her spare time. Then her husband bought five rolls of fabric to sell to customers. He soon bought a small shop and when that became too full of stock, some houses for storage.
Today, the couple’s 130,000 sq ft headquarters is believed to be England’s biggest cloth house. “We never had any holidays until a little while ago and I still work very hard every day,” says Singh. “I don’t feel a millionaire, I serve my customers and look after my staff and I just enjoy it.” His fabrics are now made in Asia to his designs and his customers buy from all over the world.
Or take Dinesh Chandaria, 48, who comes from a family of Kenyan paper makers. When the family decided to diversify into the UK, it bought the Otley firm in 1990 for £15 million. The company is now valued at £100 million. The family also has £15million of assets in their native Kenya.
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Name:
Mike Jatania
Total Wealth: £850 million
Origin: India
Businesses: Cosmetics |
Name:
Lord Swraj Paul
Total Wealth: £700 mn
Origin: India
Businesses: Steel, cement |
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These are the little success stories at the cutting edge of the British entrepreneurial community’s Asian businesses featured in this year’s Asian Rich List. “This is a fascinating list, which takes in businesses from manufacturing to finance, from food to hotels, from pharmaceuticals to fashion. It includes first, second and third generation achievers. The list also provides the definitive guide to who’s who in the Asian business world,” says Spinder Dhaliwal, lecturer in entrepreneurship at the University of Surrey, who has compiled the list for Eastern Eye magazine. The survey was released on May 8, 2007 at a star studded ceremony.
By any yardstick these are staggering achievements. Immigrants who came to the UK clutching a few pounds and a bagful of dreams are now living the life that dreams are made of. The survey shows how Britain’s Asians exert a disproportionately large influence on the country’s economy. It ranks the 200 richest people in the UK and ranks the Jatania brothers of the Lornamead cosmetics group at number one, with Swaraj Paul following close behind; pharmaceutical czars Vijay and Bhikhu Patel at joint number three and Jasminder Singh of the Edwardian Radisson hotel chain at number five.
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more...
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June 2007
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