Eastern Eye Asian Business Awards winners
Following a hugely successful evening on Friday 26th March, celebrating the cream of Asian business success in the UK, The Asian Media & Marketing Group announced the winners of the Eastern Eye Asian Business Awards 2010.
David Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, was the chief guest and presented two awards on the evening.
Transport minister Sadiq Khan made a keynote speech at the awards and the opening section was closed with a Q&A answer session between The Rt. Hon Lord Paul, Zameer Chaudhry of the Bestways Group and Zed Cama, Group General Manager International for HSBC Group who discussed how they have combated the effects of the recession and looked forward to what the rest of 2010 might bring in the way of business fortunes.
Hosted by broadcaster Nikki Bedi and following a sumptuous four-course dinner, the 700-strong audience were entertained by comedian Paul Chowdhry and Bollywood dance act, the Bollywood Pandits, following a glittering awards ceremony, recognising the country’s top business performers.
In addition, The Eastern Eye Asian Rich List 2010 was also launched on the evening.
This year the prestige award went to Sir Anwar Pervez and his Bestway cash and carry group. Last year the group broke the magical �2bn turnover barrier, generating huge profits in a tough market.
Kalpesh Solanki, Group Managing Editor for the Asian Media & Marketing Group, publishers of Eastern Eye, said; “This year’s winners show that Asian entrepreneurship is well and truly alive – even in these very tough times. The awards are a tribute to the community’s passion, dedication and commitment to business and wealth creation. They are a stirring example of what can be done even when all the odds are against you.
“The publication of the Eastern Eye Asian Rich List only reinforces the point that Asian enterprise continues to make a huge contribution to Britain and many of the profiles are really inspiring rags to riches tales that have a lesson for us all wherever we are.”
And the award winners are…
Asian Business of the Year
Bestway cash & carry was launched in October 1976 when Sir Mohammed Anwar Pervez opened his first wholesale warehouse in Acton, West London. To date there are 54 stores in the UK and one distribution centre. Its flagship London warehouse in Abbey Road, Park Royal, was opened in 1984 and is the largest cash and carry warehouse in Europe, covering 242,000 square feet. The Group contributes 2.5% of its profits to its own charitable foundation each year. In 2009, Bestway’s combined annual turnover was �2.05 billion, with profits rising to �80.6m, an increase of 26.1%.
Asian Businesswoman of the Year
Vinodka Murria from Holborn, London is the Chief Executive of Advanced Computer Software Plc, an AIM-listed healthcare software acquisition vehicle with a market cap of �120m, an impressive achievement for a company which launched less than two years ago. In her 20-year career Vin has spanned Venture Capital, Private Equity, Chief Executive and operational roles, with a strong focus on Mergers & Acquisitions.
Asian Business Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Ratheesan Yoganathan from Aldgate, London is the CEO of Lebara Mobile. In less than two years, Lebara has acquired over one million UK customers, with 120 permanent employees in the UK (560 across the Group). Two billion minutes will be used by Lebara Mobile customers across the UK and UK revenues have tripled since 2008.
Asian Business Enterprise Award
Hussein Lalani, Commercial Director and Faisal Lalani, Buying Director from Daventry, Northamptonshire are the brothers behind the successful company 99p Stores Ltd. The Lalani’s started the venture with one shop in January 2001 and by January 2010 they had 128 shops nationwide with an annualised turnover in excess of �250million. Sourcing over 3500 products from around the world, the company now employs over 4000 staff.
International Asian Business of the Year in the UK
Jaguar Land Rover owned by India’s Tata Motors. The Indian auto manufacturer took over two iconic British brand car names Jaguar Land Rover in �1.8bn deal – the largest made by an Indian company overseas. Two years later Jaguar sales are riding a crest of a wave and one of the most famous names in British motoring has been restored to its natural glory…
Incredible India Award for Favourite Airline
Kingfisher Airlines, India’s only Five Star airline as rated by Skytrax, commenced operations with a brand new fleet of aircraft on May 9, 2005. Widely acclaimed as India’s best airline, Kingfisher Airlines started with just four flights daily and today, it offers over 360 flights a day connecting 63 domestic and seven international destinations. As India’s market leading airline, Kingfisher Airlines offers the maximum number of flights offered by any single airline network in India. Kingfisher Airlines is part of The UB Group which is one of India’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests and a global presence and is owned by Vijay Mallya who also own F1 racing team Force India and IPL outfit, Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Incredible India Award for Favourite Tour Operator
Southall Travel Limited was established in 1984 with just six staff and a humble annual turnover of �500,000. Recruiting seasoned travel professionals, the company also set up a state of the art call centre in India. Southall Travel’s annual turnover is �200m for the year ending March 2010. The company employees 700 people globally offering services 24 hours a day, seven days a week and helps 1,000 people with their travel needs every day. Southall Travel prides itself in being the Number 1 Travel agent to India from the U.K and was adjudged among 100 Fast Track companies in the U.K (Sunday Times Poll).
Asian Business Community Engagement Award
The Health and Safety Executive has set up the Outreach Project following research which showed that migrant construction workers were particularly vulnerable to health and safety risks due to language barriers and different perceptions of risk. The construction sector has one of the highest rates of fatalities and major injuries of all industries in Britain. Rhaynukaa Soni from Greenhithe, Kent has been leading the outreach team to help target health and safety information to some of the more vulnerable Indian workers in construction.
Asian Business Hotelier of the Year Award
Jasminder Singh from Hayes is the Founder, Chairman & CEO of the Radisson Edwardian Hotels, one of London’s largest privately-owned hotel groups. It operates an award-winning collection of 12 luxury four- and five-star hotels. The group, which is owned by Edwardian Hotels, has a franchise agreement with US-based Radisson Hotels Worldwide to run its properties under the Radisson Edwardian banner. The group has an annual turnover of �90m and a net worth in excess of �250m.
And finally….
Asian Business Lifetime Achievement Award…
Gopi & Srichand Hinduja – Hinduja Group, India’s foremost privately held group, employing over 35,000 people across four continents. Brothers Gopi and Srichand manage the Group and have transformed it from an Indo-Middle East trading operation into a multi-billion dollar transnational conglomerate. In 1984 the Group acquired Gulf Oil, closely followed by the then struggling Indian automotive manufacturer Ashok Leyland which in 2008 had a turnover in excess of US$2 billion and a position as of one of the world’s leading makers of trucks and buses.
