AN INFLUENTIAL London hotelier won the top prize at the second annual Eastern Eye Property Awards in London on Thursday (25) night.
Tony Matharu is the founder and chairman of Integrity International Group, which has acquired some of London’s most iconic buildings, among them Atlas House near the Guildhall, the Crescent Buildings in Tower Hill and 55 Broadway and Albany House.
Matharu was named Eastern Eye’s property developer of the year, along with nine other winners across different categories.
He was praised for his business achievements as well as philanthropy, sport and community engagement.
In all, 10 prizes were presented at the event at Park Plaza, Riverbank, hosted by the Asian Media Group, publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat news weeklies.
Now in their second year, the awards celebrate and recognise key players in the property industry – from developers and financial lenders to interior designers and technology disruptors.
Matharu also took part in a masterclass with compere Nihal Arthanayake and discussed his views on the UK economy and prospects for real estate in the country. Among other winners were OakNorth, named Eastern Eye bank of the year.
Since its launch in 2015, it has lent more than $16 billion to scale-ups, and been instrumental in creating 56,000 jobs and helping build 34,000 new homes across the UK and US, the majority in affordable and social housing. OakNorth was co-founded by Asian businessman Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman.
Baroness Sharon Taylor speaks during the event
Chief guest Baroness Sharon Taylor, minister for housing, communities and local government said, "Britain is a proudly diverse country. We're all proud of that. As business leaders, your work has been absolutely vital in rebuilding Britain."
"The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year. Now, we're not going to reverse a decade of stagnant growth at the flick of a switch, but there are some very important signs of recovery."
She added, "Our mission signals our commitment to the country and to the market, and that we are serious about solving the housing crisis. We can't do that unless we work in partnership with the housing industry."
Lord Ahmed highlighted the defining characteristics of British Asians at the event, stressing their hospitality, hard work driven by "determined, ambitious, aspirational parents," and natural affinity for property investment.
He described how "property ownership very much is within the British Asian DNA," noting that when buildings become available, "chances are one of our communities has already made an offer."
The peer praised the community's contributions across sectors, from pharmacies that "dispense wisdom" alongside prescriptions, to builders and developers who have "contributed to building communities" and "built futures."
Addressing recent social tensions, he acknowledged conversations about "racial slurs and bigotry that we thought rightly had been put in the dustbin of history" but insisted Britain remains resilient. He declared: "We are not defined by one community alone. Tonight demonstrates that we are not defined by one race alone."
Prideview Group, which successfully competed 76 high value transactions in 2024, won Eastern Eye advisor of the year. Its deals in the London region were estimated to be worth £250 million.
One of India’s leading banks scooped the prize for Eastern Eye commercial lender of the year.
State Bank of India UK, with 11 branches across the country, works with its clients on serving their commercial property financing requirements.
The Eastern Eye rising star award went to Sachinkumar Gupta, director of Property Hub Limited, for building on his previous travel enterprise and diversifying to serve them with property-related services.
Oraanj Interior Design, which has transformed homes, offices, restaurants and hotels, won Eastern Eye Interior Designer of the Year.
Founder Rachana Gupta’s company offers clients a range of services, from space planning to custom furniture and landscape design.
Manni Chopra of the Chopra Property Group scooped the Eastern Eye property entrepreneur of the year award.
Along with her husband, Romey, she runs The Chopra Property Group, finding unloved properties and executing conversions and developments using their own and private investor funds.
Other winners were Paresh Raja of Market Financial Solutions, who won the Eastern Eye Award for disruptor of the year, Valos, named Eastern Eye technology company of the year and Aldermore Bank, which won the Eastern Eye Specialist Lender Award.
The Bantam of the Opera choir at King's Cross London BBC Screengrab 
