Reward for flair and hard work

Asian Business of the Year: Cofresh

COFRESH is one of Britain’s leading Indian snacks brand, with its products being consumed by more than 1.5 million UK consumers every week. The company makes more than 200 different products and its new ‘Eat Real’ range is one of the leading brands in the healthy eating category.

Led by founder Dineshbhai Patel’s two sons, Pri­yesh and Minesh, the company operates out of a state-of-the-art 140,000 sq ft factory in Leicester.

Patel started the business shortly after he arrived in the UK with his wife in 1974 from Kenya. The couple spent their life savings on a fish and chip shop and shortly afterwards, started using the frying facilities to create the perfect Indian snack. They began selling spicy peanuts to local Asian working men’s clubs, retail shops and pubs. Helped by his brothers, the business was an instant success and soon expanded into all kinds of Indian snacks.

Today Cofresh is available in all major supermar­kets and exports to more than 28 countries.

Entrepreneur of the Year: Keith and Maria Bas­tian, Fischer Future Heat

THE Bastians’ passion for bringing efficient and economical heating to the British market led them on a journey which saw them buy out the German manufacturer Fischer and set up Fischer Future Heat, now a household name providing services to thousands of UK homes.

Starting with little more than a computer, tele­phone and working out of their kitchen, the Bastians have gone from selling a manufacturer’s products to buying out their supplier and employing more than 300 people, with a turnover in excess of £30 million. The group now operates from a 30,000 sq ft facility in Leicester and recently entered the energy sector.

The Fischer Energy offshoot offers customers fair prices, renewable energy and what it describes as impeccable customer service.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Gurvinder Singh Birk, founder of Fast Despatch Transport Ltd

GURVINDER SINGH BIRK started a small transport logistics company with a vehicle fleet of just two. Today it operates more than 600 vehicles and has become one of the leading last-mile delivery experts in the UK. Its clients include manufacturers and in­ternational parcel carriers.

Birk’s father gave him the £2,000 seed capital to start his business and also taught him the funda­mentals of management and leadership. Although he passed away last year at the age of 55, he contin­ues to inspire Birk. As Fast Despatch Transport ex­pands and exceeds targets, Birk said he dedicated the award to his beloved father.

Community Champion Award: Randhir Singh Heer and Parmjit Singh Bahyia, founders of Mid­lands Langar Seva Society

MLSS, as the organisation is known, is one of the biggest homeless charities in the UK. Manned by volunteers, its teams feed those in need around the UK, in India and some areas of Europe.

The charity provides support to veterans, chil­dren’s centres and breakfast clubs. It also offers non-food essentials as well as helps the alienated re-inte­grate into society. Set up by two school friends in 2013 in Walsall, MLSS serves around 5,000 free meals each week to the homeless and poor. Its ef­forts have helped more than two million homeless people all over the country and abroad.

Manufacturing Award: AJB Group, founded by managing director Amarjit Binji

THE AJB Group manufactures high-quality mould­ings, doors and windows on an industrial scale. The business operates from a 40,000 sq ft factory and supplies joinery to the most iconic buildings across Britain, from the RBS headquarters in Edinburgh to the Shard in London, which boasts no fewer than 500 of AJB’s door frames.

Founder Amarjit Binji left school at the age of 16 with the ambition of becoming a woodworker and joiner. His talent and hard work meant that by the time he was 23, he was running his own firm.

Binji learned management and business develop­ment in order to grow the business, and has dis­played a natural ability to bring the best out of his staff and build long-term relationships with both customers and suppliers.

Food and Drink Business Award (in association with HKS Holdings): Jaisukhbhai Chandarana, Simtom Foods

SIMTOM FOODS’ Simtom and Timtom brands are known in the Midlands and their products are widely used in the preparation of Indian foods.

The business was started in 1977 when the founder began making pickles, pastes and chutneys. Today the company’s products – cooking sauces, season­ings, marinades and pickles – are widely available in convenience stores and multiple retailers and sold in the catering sector.

Healthcare Business Award (in association with Citi Private Bank): Manjit Singh Jhooty, CEO of Jhoots Group of Companies

THE Jhoots Group, a family business that opened its first pharmacy in 2002, has grown to be one of the largest independent operators in the country. Head­quartered in the Midlands, Jhoots employs more than 450 staff across 90 pharmacies and operates from new purpose-built headquarters in the heart of Walsall’s town centre.

Garavi Gujarat Pioneer Award: Bhagwanjibhai Lakhani (posthumous), Bobby’s restaurant

IN RECOGNITION of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Garavi Gujarat, this award was presented to the late Bhagwanjibhai Lakhani, founder of Bob­by’s restaurant in Leicester.

Lakhani founded Bobby’s in Belgrave Road in 1976, four years after arriving in Leicester from Uganda following the expulsion of thousands of Asians by the dictator Idi Amin. Despite having no restaurant experience, he turned Bobby’s into a successful ven­ture and helped cement the reputation of the Gold­en Mile for quality food, jewellery and clothing.

n Copies of the Asian Rich List Midlands 2018 are available to purchase. Contact Saurin Shah on 020- 7654 7737 or email saurin.shah@amg.biz