Zameer Choudrey, Baron Choudrey

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The Lord Choudrey
Lord Choudary.jpg
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
5 November 2019
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born
Zameer Mohammed Choudrey

23 March 1958
Islamabad, Pakistan
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom & Pakistan
NationalityBritish
SpouseRakshanda
RelationsSir Anwar Pervez (uncle) Dawood Pervez (cousin)
EducationUniversity of Kent
Known forCEO, Bestway

Zameer Mohammed Choudrey, Baron Choudrey CBE SI Pk (Urdu: ضمیر چوہدری; born 23 March 1958)[1] is a British billionaire businessman, and the chief executive of Bestway, the UK's eleventh-largest privately owned business,[2] and ninth-largest family-owned business,[3] with a turnover in excess of £3.4 billion[4] and founded by his uncle, Sir Anwar Pervez.[5][6]

According to the Sunday Times Rich List UK, in 2020 his net worth is £1.53 billion [7](US$1.85 billion); which makes him the second-richest Pakistani in the UK.[8]

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the wholesale industry and charity.[9]

On 23 March 2018, the President of Pakistan awarded him Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) SI Pk, in recognition of his contributions to advancing Pakistan through his services and the wide array of philanthropic work.[10]

On 10 September 2019, he was nominated for a life peerage in ex-prime minister Theresa May’s resignation honours list.[11] He was created Baron Choudrey,[12] of Hampstead in the London Borough of Barnet, on 9 October 2019.[13][14] He formally joined the House of Lords on 5 November 2019.[15][16]

Early life

Choudrey was born in March 1958.[17] His parents hail from a remote village of Thathi in Gujar Khan, Pakistan, he moved to UK at the age of 12 [18] with his family. He graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1981.

Career

In 1984, Choudrey qualified as an accountant with Simmons, Cohen, Fine and Partners (now Simmons Gainsford LLP).[19] He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales[20] and is also a member of the Institute of Directors in London. In November 2014 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent.[21]

He joined Bestway Group in 1984 as Financial Controller; he played a key role in the expansion of the Group's wholesale business through the acquisition of Bashin Cash & Carry in 1984, Crown Crest Limited in 1987 and Link Cash & Carry in 1988.[22]

In 1990, Choudrey was appointed the finance director of Bestway Group. During the mid 1990s he was assigned the task of business diversification by the board of directors and in 1995 he was appointed chief executive of Bestway Cement.[23][24]

In October 2002 having led the acquisition of United Bank Limited (UBL); he was appointed to the board of UBL.[25] Since then he has been a director of UBL Insurers.[26]

In July 2014 under his[27][28] leadership Bestway Group acquired the Co-op's pharmacy business for £620 million[29] or US$1.06 billion. Co-op pharmacy is the UK's third largest independent pharmacy business and the largest in Wales.

At the time of acquisition, pharmacy business was expected to increase the group's annual turnover to over £3 billion and the group's global workforce would increase to 33,600 people, with over 11,900 people employed in the UK.[30]

In October 2015, he was declared the winner of the Grocer Cup for outstanding business achievement.[31]

Wholesale cash and carry

The Bestway Group's wholesale operations[32] are the 2nd largest in the UK. It trades from 62 warehouses[33] and is a supply partner to over 70,000 independent retailers and 40,000 catering and foodservice operators. Bestway Wholesale also operates the Best-one symbol group which has 1,400 members throughout the country. Over 3,500 independents have chosen their depot-run promotional club, Xtra Local, as their retail club of choice.[34]

In January 2005 Choudrey led the acquisition of Batleys plc for £100 million.[35] An OFT report published soon after the acquisition stated that the merged entity is the fourth largest national grocery wholesaler in the UK, with a 9.9% share of supply in grocery wholesaling as a whole and 15.9% share of supply in cash & carry alone.[36]

Batleys contributed towards expanding the Group's market share by 50%. In addition to organic growth over the years, the Group acquired Bellevue Cash & Carry's two warehouses in Edinburgh and Stirling in June 2010.[37][38] In November 2010 the Group went on to acquire the Martex Group[39] of three cash & carry warehouses and its food service operation from C J Lang.

In April 2014, the Group acquired Glasgow-based wholesaler Sher Brothers[40] and merged Sher Brothers into the Batleys brand.[41]

In April 2018, the company purchased the assets and brands of Conviviality Retail from administrators PwC for £7.25m. PwC partner Matthew Callaghan said: ‘This deal safeguards the jobs of more than 2,000 employees.[42]

In June 2018, the company acquired two Blakemore Wholesale's warehouses in Cardiff and Walsall.[43]

In December 2020, the company acquired symbol operator Costcutter Supermarkets Group for an undisclosed fee from Bibby Line Group. The Costcutter operations will become part of Bestway's retail arm. This will involve the integration of around 1,500 stores branded Costcutter, Mace, Supershop, Kwiksave and Simply Fresh, along with 20 Costcutter and four Co-op franchise.[44]

Cement manufacturing

[45] In 1995, Choudrey initiated the Group's business diversification strategy and was appointed Chief Executive of Bestway Cement.[46]

The Group built its first cement plant in Hattar, in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan in 1995. This was an initial investment of US$120 million and led to the creation of 800 jobs.[47] Civil works started in January 1996 and the Kiln was fired in April 1998. In 2002 the plant's capacity was further enhanced to 1.3 million TPA at a cost of US$20 million.

In February 2004 the company set up its second plant with a 1.8 million TPA capacity in Chakwal[48] in the Province of Punjab, Pakistan with a total investment of US$140 million and led to the creation of 900 jobs.

In September 2005 he spearheaded the Group's US$70 million acquisition of its third cement plant Mustehkam Cement as part of the Government's Privatisation Programme. In the post acquisition period the Group has invested in excess of US$50 million.[49]

In October 2007 the company was granted an export license by the Bureau of Indian Standards.[50]

Subsequently similar export licenses were granted for Dubai; South Africa; Sri Lanka and Turkey.

In June 2008 the Group's fourth cement plant with a 1.8 million TPA capacity went into commercial production adjacent to the existing site in Chakwal[51] at a cost of US$180 million and 500 new jobs were added.

In July 2014 the company acquired Lafarge's 75.86% stake in Lafarge Pakistan Cement Ltd[52] for an enterprise value of US$329 million (€244 million). Lafarge Pakistan Cement Ltd operates an integrated cement plant in the north of Pakistan, close to Islamabad.[53] The company also acquired another 12.07% shares through a public offer, taking its shareholding in Lafarge Pakistan to 87.93%.[54]

In April 2015, Choudrey announced plans to invest US$30 million in Pakcem (formerly Lafarge Pakistan) plant. As part of the investment programme, Bestway would establish an environmentally friendly WHRP Plant at Pakcem.[55]

In July 2015, the company inaugurated two WHRP Plants (6 MW and 7.5 MW) at its Hattar and Farooqia plants in KPK Province of Pakistan.[56]

In March 2017 the company announced plans to set up its third cement plant in Haripur KPK Province. The brownfield plant will have a daily production capacity of 6,000 tons of clinker per day.[57]

In June 2021 the company commissioned its first 14.3MW captive solar power unit at its integrated cement plant at Farooqia, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The unit is part of a 50MW project deal that is planned to install solar units at the cement producer's plant at Farooqia, Chakwal, Kallar Kahar and Hattar in Pakistan.[58]

Global banking

In October 2002 Choudrey led and managed the Group's acquisition of United Bank Limited (UBL) which is today Pakistan's 2nd largest private bank.[59] He serves as a Director on the Board of UBL[60][61] and also chairs the Board Risk and Compliance Committee. He is also a director of UBL Insurers.[62][63]

In August 2003, UBL launched Pakistan's first derivative money market product.[64] In 2005, the bank acquired the status of Authorised Derivative Dealer – the only domestic bank to achieve this status.[64] It is also the first institution from Pakistan & third in South Asia to be accredited with Primary Membership of International Swaps & Derivatives Association.

In June 2007 the Global Depository Receipts of UBL were listed on the London Stock Exchange. The offering targeted institutional investors and raised in excess of US$650 million.[65] UBL is the only Pakistani bank and one of the only two Pakistani companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange.[66]

In April 2010, UBL launched UBL Omni,[67] an in-house developed project designed to provide banking facilities to the unbanked population of Pakistan. As of June 2014 UBL Omni had a customer base in excess of 6.8 million, with over 1.5 million active cards in issue and 5 million monthly transactions valued at over US$253 million.[68] Through the success of UBL Omni 1.55 million previously unbanked individuals have opened mobile bank accounts with UBL in Pakistan.[68] Today, Omni Dukaan network has grown to 42,100 agents in Pakistan.[69]

In January 2011 Choudrey played an instrumental role in the Group's decision to increase its shareholding in (UBL)[70] to 51.07% by acquiring an additional 20% of the shares from the Abu Dhabi Group.[71] This was a total investment of US$230.0 million in Pakistan's second largest private commercial bank.[72][73]

The Bank added 200 branches in 2011 and 2012, thus increasing its domestic network to over 1,300 online branches[74] with 800 ATMs.

In June 2012, UBL led consortium acquired 67.4% stake in Khushhali Bank, which is the largest micro-finance institution in Pakistan.[75]

In December 2013, the Group, increased its shareholding in UBL to 61.37% by acquiring an additional 10.3% of the shares from the Abu Dhabi Group.[76] Through an investment of over $120 million, the Group acquired the entire shareholding of its former joint venture partner the Abu Dhabi Group.[77]

In June 2014, the Government of Pakistan sold its remaining 20% stake in UBL for US$387 million. This was Pakistan's first transaction in the global equity market in almost eight years.[78]

Pharmacy

As part of the Group's diversification strategy,[79] in July 2014 the Group acquired the Co-op's pharmacy business[80] for £620 million.[81][82] Co-op pharmacy is the UK's third largest independent pharmacy business, and the largest in Wales with 795 stores nationwide.

At the time of the acquisition he[83] said: "We see great potential to grow the business organically and through future acquisitions".[84][85]

In February 2015,[86] the Group re-branded the Co-op Pharmacy Business to Well Pharmacy. Chourdey [87] had pledged to give Well strong support by committing to invest £200m[88] over the next five years to help develop and grow the business, and to make sure Well continued to serve its customers and local communities to the high standard the business has always delivered.[89]

In October 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer performed a formal opening of the Well Pharmacy head office in Manchester.[90]

Philanthropy

In 1987, Choudrey was a founding Trustee of Bestway Foundation[91] – a charitable trust of the Bestway Group that works exclusively in the health[92][93] and education sectors.[94][95]

In 1997 Bestway Foundation Pakistan was established and he was appointed Chairman of Bestway Foundation Pakistan.[96]

Between 2008 and 2010 he served as Chairman of NGBF Trading Limited – the trading arm of GroceryAid.[97]

In April 2009 he joined the Board of Trustees of Crimestoppers UK.[98][99]

Between March 2010 and April 2019, he served as a trustee of GroceryAid [100] - the trade industry's flagship charity.[101][102][103]

In May 2010, he was appointed as Deputy chairman of the Pakistan Britain Trade & Investment Forum.[104]

He became a member of HRH Prince of Wales Pakistan Recovery Fund International Leadership Team[105] in 2011.

In February 2013, the Bestway Foundation and University of Bradford signed a five-year agreement that committed £250,000 each to jointly fund five annual scholarships to support postgraduate students applying from Pakistan.[106][107][108]

In April 2013 he was invited by the British Asian Trust to join their UK Advisory Council.[109]

In May 2014 Bestway Cement Limited was ranked 10th out of 478 PLCs by volume of donations in Pakistan according to Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) Philanthropy Survey 2012.[110]

In October 2014 Bestway Foundation (Rs. 50 Million) [111] and United Bank Limited[112] (Rs. 100 Million) donated Rs. 150 Million to Foreman Christian College Lahore, Pakistan. FC College which is one of the oldest academic institutions of South Asia was founded in 1864 by Dr Charles W Forman, a Presbyterian missionary from the United States of America.

In May 2015 the charitable trust gave £1 million towards graduate scholarships at Oxford University.[113] The gift created an endowment that enables two graduate students from Pakistan[114] per year to study at Oxford, in perpetuity, through the Oxford-Sir Anwar Pervez Graduate Scholarships.[115]

In October 2016, the Bestway Foundation and University of Kent signed a five-year agreement that committed £250,000 each to jointly fund five annual scholarships to support postgraduate students applying from Pakistan.[116][117][118]

In February 2017 the UK's third largest retail pharmacist, Well, launched its charity partnership with the Stroke Association. Well seeks to raise £250,000 under Know Your Blood Pressure campaign for the country's leading charity dedicated to conquering stroke.[119][120]

In November 2017, the Bestway Foundation donated £100,000 NSPCC the children's charity.[121]

In January 2018 he was appointed UK Chair of the British Asian Trust[122]'s Advisory Council.[123][124]

In March 2108 Well Pharmacy donated over 35,000 Foster Grant sunglasses and reading glasses, with a total estimated retail value of £946,000 to In Kind Direct, which distributes consumer goods donated by companies to UK charities.[125]

In November 2018; the Group's charitable trust donated £100,000 to the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.[126][127]

In Pakistan the Group has donated £900,000 towards the construction of dams and large scale water Reservoirs.[128][129]

The company has donated £14.8 million[130] to the charitable trust in the UK[131][132] and provided over US$9.0 million to health, education[133][134][135] and humanitarian causes in Pakistan.[134][136][137][138][139][140]

In June 2019, Choudrey joined the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council's Advisory Council.[141][142][143][144]

In November 2019, Bestway Foundation donated £100,000 to the Save The Children - a charity that Bestway's charitable trust has been supporting since 2004.[145]

In April 2020 the Group companies in Pakistan donated Rs.600 million to fight COVID-19 in Pakistan.[146]

In July 2021 the Bestway Foundation donated £975,000 to the Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge to establish a £1.3 million Lord Choudrey Scholarship Fund to provide scholarships for PhD students; named in honour of Lord Choudrey.[147]

Criticism

Choudrey has failed to increase the staff diversity of Bestway, for example the Board of Directors has no Black British member. Bestway have made no efforts to generate or even recommend energy solutions in Pakistan which is a key challenge in the nation.

Politics

Choudrey is a long-standing supporter and donor to the UK Conservative Party, [148][149][150] and in August 2013 was appointed the co-chairman of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan.[151][152][153]

He made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on the 29th of January 2020; when he participated in the House of Lords debate on the Sutton Trust's Mobility Manifesto, published in November 2019, and the recommendations of the Social Mobility Commission's 2019 State of the Nation report.[154][155]

In June 2020, during the House of Lords debate - the economic lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures necessary to repair the UK economy - he asked if the Government intended to expand the life insurance scheme to the SME sector, and specifically to BAME individuals employed in the SME sector who have been defined as key workers but are not covered by the current scheme.[156]

In May 2021 - whilst participating in the debate on Her Majesty the Queen's Speech, he highlighted the issues being faced by community pharmacists. [157]

See also

List of British Pakistanis

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Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Choudrey
Followed by
The Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row