Eight Indians figure among top 40 entrepreneurs in Britain

London, Dec 13: Eight prominent Indians figure in The Daily Telegraph's list of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs for 2006.

In the second year of the premier League of Young, of the 40 entrepreneurs selected, Asif Aziz and family, at number 12, is a fresh entrant. The 39-year-old property developer is estimated to be worth around 140 million pounds. Last month, Aziz's new vehicle Criterion Capital paid 25 million pounds for the YMCA site on Tottenham Court Road - the latest in a long line of property deals in London that Aziz has initiated.

His family originally hails from India but he was born in Malawi and came to the United Kingdom when his father, a food wholesaler, emigrated from Africa.

The 140 million pounds valuation is perhaps 'conservative', considering his growing Criterion business which is buying up properties in Knightsbridge and Docklands.

He is followed by Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan, aged 40 and 38 and valued at 115 million pounds. The husband-wife team run one of Britain's largest chicken-processing companies, employing nearly 3,000 people in the West Midlands and Holland. They supply top supermarkets, including Marks&Spencer and own the Buxted brand.

At number 14 is Shafqat Rasul 36, valued at 106 million pounds, who runs the Edinburgh-based E-Net Computers. Set up in 1999, the company is now Europe's largest distributor of memory devices. The company made 3.5 million pounds in pre-tax profits on sales of 54 million pounds last year. He has recently opened an import-export hub in Dubai and is also involved in other hi-tech ventures besides having a number of property investments.

Sanjay Kumar has jumped from the 24th slot last year to number 18 this year. The 37-year-old's estimated worth is 82 million pounds.

His boutique Rajan Fashions is duly managed by his brother Rajan.

They developed their father's Manchester market stall into a supplier for top fashion chains. The company also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. The turnover last year fell from 78 million pounds to 48 million pounds.

At 23rd position is 39-year-old Sanjay Vadera and family, worth an estimated 72 million pounds. A former department store assistant, Vadera runs Per-Scent, which distributes branded fragrances. The firm supplies retailers such as Asda, Superdrug and the Perfume Shop and was earmarked for a flotation before Icelandic investor Karl Wernersson took a 65 per cent stake for 42 million dollars. However, turnover results were not so fragrant for Per-Scent last year, with pre-tax profits falling to 2.3 million pounds from 3.8 million pounds.

Sandeep Chadha, 38, at 27th position is valued at 63 million pounds. Sandeep 'Sandy' Chadha was just two-years-old when his impoverished family arrived in Britain from Delhi. His father began importing novelty goods from the Far East and sold them to small shops. Thus, Supreme Imports was born. But it was Sandy who struck upon the idea of selling batteries. Last year, he sold 35 million pounds of batteries to Superdrug and Argos. He and his family have a significant property portfolio.

The new entrants at number 31 are Raj Sehgal and Sanjeev Mehan and family, aged 31 and 37 and estimated at 57 million pounds. In 2005, Sehgal and his brother-in-law Mehan led a management buyout of South Shields-based fashion outfit Visage Holdings, which employs 400 people around the world and boasted a turnover of 114 million pounds in the year to March 2005. The family also owns Visage Retail, which supplies brands of sporting kits to major retailers.

Ajaz Ahmed, 33, is slotted at number 36 with an estimated wealth of 51 million pounds. Ahmed, a university dropout, founded AKQA, a web designing and interactive marketing agency when he was just 22.

The company, whose name is derived from his initials, employs nearly 400 people and has offices in New York, London, San Franscisco, Washington and Singapore. AKQA works with many of the world's biggest names such as McDonald's, Nike and Microsoft to help them advertise online and on mobile phones.

A new entrant at number 40 is Raj Chatha and family. The 37-year-old wine and beer wholesaler is valued at 47 million pounds.

Chatha heads European Food Brokers, a highly profitable beer-and-wine business, with a turnover of over 100 million pounds.

Chatha's father was an immigrant from Punjab, India, and became a retailer in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Chatha began his wholesale business in 1991. He is now based in Walsall.

He says being worth nearly 50 million pounds is meaningless for him, and he has no intention of selling out.

UNI