Anwar Pervez

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For Bangladeshi music composer and music director, see Anwar Pervez (musician).
Sir
Anwar Pervez
Born (1935-03-15) 15 March 1935 (age 89)[1]
Rawalpindi, British India (now Pakistan)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Chairman, Bestway
SpouseSabiha Qasim
Children4
RelativesZameer Choudrey (nephew)

Sir Mohammed Anwar Pervez OBE, HPk (Urdu: سر انور پرویز; born 15 March 1935) is a Pakistani-born British billionaire businessman and former bus conductor and driver.[2] He is the founder and chairman of Bestway Group.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List, in 2020 Anwar Pervez's net worth is £3.1 billion (US$3.75 billion); which makes him the richest Pakistan-born Briton in the UK.[3]

Early life

Mohammed Anwar Pervez was born on 15 March 1935 to a subsistence farming family in Rawalpindi.[4] He did his matriculation in Pakistan. In 1956, he moved to the UK at the age of 21.[4][5]

Career

His first job was as a telephone operator in the state-owned telecommunication company PTCL.[4] There he used to work for Rs. 96 a month and most of them were spent on anti-malaria medications.[6]

In 1956, he emigrated to England. There he became a bus conductor and driver in Bradford.[4] He worked seven days a week on double shifts about £16 to £18 a week.[4]

In 1963 he established his first convenience store, Kashmir, in London's Earls Court for the Muslim community.[4][7] By the early seventies, he had changed the company's name to Bestway and was operating ten convenience stores in and around West London mostly serving Asians and specialised in Asian food: spices, rice, lentils, and meat.[4][5]

In 1976, Pervez opened Bestway’s first wholesale warehouse in Acton, West London.[5] The company has since grown to a multibillion-pound enterprise, and as of 2014 Bestway is the second-largest independent wholesaler in the UK.[8]

Personal life

He is married to Sabiha Qasim, and their sons Rizwan Pervez and Dawood Pervez (born February 1975) are directors of Bestway.[9][10]

In 2012, their daughter Farah married Syed Abid Hussain Imam, the son of Pakistani politicians Abida Hussain and Fakhar Imam. She lives in Lahore and is not involved in Bestway.[10]

Honours

Pervez was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1992[11] and a Knight Bachelor in 1999.[12]

In March 2000, he was awarded Hilal-i-Pakistan by the Pakistani Government for his services to the Pakistani nation.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3113. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  2. ^ Marlow, Ben (July 18, 2014). "Bestway cash and carry empire snaps up Co-op high street pharmacies" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ Times, The Sunday. "Rich List 2020: profiles 21-50, featuring Salma Hayek and Sir Richard Branson". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wright, John (January 5, 2020). "Billionaire Sir Anwar Pervez: 'In the Eighties market crash, I only lost a million pounds'" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  5. ^ a b c Midgley, Dominic (21 July 2014). "Anwar Pervez: The Billionaire cash and carry King". Express. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  6. ^ Rehman, Atika (October 5, 2019). "Sir Anwar Pervez: from driving buses to billion-dollar conglomerate". DAWN.COM.
  7. ^ "Corporate Heritage :: Bestway Group". www.bestwaygroup.co.uk.
  8. ^ Bounds, Andrew; Barrett, Claer (18 July 2014). "Cash-and-carry group Bestway to buy Co-op pharmacies for £620m". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Bestway's Pervez steps back as son joins board". Thegrocer.co.uk. 2004-07-17. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  10. ^ a b Midgley, Dominic. "Anwar Pervez: The Billionaire cash and carry King". Daily Express. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  11. ^ "No. 52952". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1992. p. 11. (United Kingdom)
  12. ^ "Honours and Awards". London Gazette. 14 September 1999. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Sir Mohammed Anwar Pervez".

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anwar_Pervez&oldid=994576932"