An award ceremony honouring leading figures in Asian business was held in the Midlands this weekend.
Now in its fifth year, The Lloyds TSB Central Jewel Awards seeks to recognise the achievements of British Asians in both the public and private sector and strengthen the area’s reputation as a centre of Asian talent.
This year the awards received a record 13,000 nominations, demonstrating the growing number of successful Asian businesses, the event’s organisers revealed.
Winning the Entrepreneur Excellence Jewel Award was Waseem Saddique, chairman of the EverPlus Group, which now has a turnover of £74m and forecasts revenues of £150m for 2007/8.
Sharing his success in the Retail Food & Franchise Excellence category was former GB Young Gun Shelim Hussain MBE (Class of 2003), chairman of the fast-growing frozen foods distributors Euro Foods Group.
Hussain commented, “We are very hard-working and we have a good team. The business has grown from nothing; I set it up when I was 17 as a part-time job to earn some extra income while at college. Last year’s turnover was £56m.”
According to the event’s organisers, there are an estimated 200,000 Asian firms in the UK, generating wealth at a rate three times the national average, and many of these businesses are based in the Midlands.
Truett Tate, group executive director, Wholesale & International Banking, Lloyds TSB, said: “The success story of Britain’s Asian community continues to be unabated. Year after year, the shortlist for the Lloyds TSB Jewel Awards showcases an incredible array of talent and this year is no exception.”
The Central Jewel Awards forms one of a series of three events. The final event, Lloyds TSB Southern Jewel Awards will take place on September 15 2007.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
