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Zameer Choudrey, Baron Choudrey

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Choudrey
CBE SI Pk
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 November 2019
Life peerage
Personal details
Born
Zameer Mohammed Choudrey

(1958-03-23) March 23, 1958 (age 66)
Islamabad, Pakistan
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom and Pakistan
NationalityBritish
SpouseRakshanda
RelationsSir Anwar Pervez (uncle)
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-Pakistani businessman who is the chief executive of the multinational conglomerate Bestway.[2]

According to the Sunday Times Rich List UK, in 2020 his net worth is £1.53 billion,[3] making him the second-richest Pakistani in the UK.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Choudrey was born in March 1958.[5] His parents hail from a remote village of Thathi in Gujar Khan, Pakistan. He moved to UK at the age of 12 [6] with his family. He graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury in 1981.

Career

[edit]

In 1984, Choudrey qualified as an accountant with Simmons, Cohen, Fine and Partners (now Simmons Gainsford LLP).[7] He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales[8] 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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11][12]

In October 2002 having led the acquisition of United Bank Limited (UBL); he was appointed to the board of UBL.[13] Since then he has been a director of UBL Insurers.[14]

In July 2014 under his[15][16] leadership Bestway Group acquired the Co-op's pharmacy business for £620 million[17] or US$1.06 billion. The Co-operative Pharmacy was the UK's third largest independent pharmacy business and the largest in Wales. The business has since been re-named Well Pharmacy.

Philanthropy

[edit]

In 1987, Choudrey was a founding Trustee of Bestway Foundation[18] – a charitable trust of the Bestway Group that works exclusively in the health[19][20] and education sectors.[21][22]

In 1997 Bestway Foundation Pakistan was established and he was appointed Chairman of Bestway Foundation Pakistan.[23]

Between 2008 and 2010 he served as Chairman of NGBF Trading Limited – the trading arm of GroceryAid.[24]

In April 2009 he joined the Board of Trustees of Crimestoppers UK.[25][26]

Between March 2010 and April 2019, Choudrey served as a trustee of GroceryAid [27] - the trade industry's flagship charity.[28][29][30]

In May 2010, he was appointed as Deputy chairman of the Pakistan Britain Trade & Investment Forum.[31]

He became a member of HRH Prince of Wales Pakistan Recovery Fund International Leadership Team[32] in 2011.

In April 2013 Choudrey was invited by the British Asian Trust to join their UK Advisory Council.[33]

In January 2018 he was appointed UK Chair of the British Asian Trust[34]'s Advisory Council.[35][36]

In June 2019, Choudrey joined the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council's Advisory Council.[37][38][39][40]

Politics

[edit]

Choudrey is a long-standing supporter and donor to the UK Conservative Party,[41][42][43] and in August 2013 was appointed the co-chairman of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan.[44][45][46]

He made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on 29 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.[47][48]

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.[49]

In May 2021 - whilst participating in the debate on Her Majesty the Queen's Speech, he highlighted the issues being faced by community pharmacists.[50]

Honours

[edit]

In October 2015, he was declared the winner of the Grocer Cup for outstanding business achievement.[51]

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.[52]

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.[53]

He was nominated for a life peerage in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours.[54] He was created Baron Choudrey, of Hampstead in the London Borough of Barnet, on 9 October 2019.[55][56] He formally joined the House of Lords on 5 November.[57][58]

See also

[edit]

List of British Pakistanis

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Zameer Choudrey". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Bestway Group". Fast Track. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  3. ^ Murtaza Ali Shah (17 May 2020). "Two British Pakistanis in list of 20 richest Asian billionaires in UK". Geo News.
  4. ^ "Bestway directors increase their wealth". Cash & Carry Management. 16 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Bestway Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Zameer Choudrey CBE – Chief Executive of Bestway Group, Well Pharmacy's parent company – is to be appointed to the House of Lords. – Scottish Pharmacist".
  7. ^ "Simmons Gainsford LLP – Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors". Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Top Leaders 1". INVESTING IN ETHNICITY - ETHNICITY AWARDS.
  9. ^ "Zameer Choudrey - Congregations - University of Kent". www.kent.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  10. ^ Trainis, Neil (14 October 2015). "The Big Interview: Zameer Choudrey". pharmacy.biz. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Cement industry warmly welcomes CPEC projects". The Express Tribune. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Corporate world" (PDF). Lucyreid.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  13. ^ "United Bank Ltd, UBL:KAR directors and dealings". Markets.ft.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  14. ^ "UBL Insurers charms Bestway Cement". Brecorder.com. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  15. ^ Marlow, Ben (11 October 2014). "Bestway boss Zameer Choudrey on how he'll move forward". Telegraph. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  16. ^ Marcus Leroux (26 July 2014). "Manifesto: doubters scoffed every step of the way, but Bestway chief has the last laugh". The Times. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Co-operative sells pharmacies to Bestway in £620m deal". The Guardian. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Archive - 2013 - University of Bradford". Bradford.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Sir Anwar Pervez - Neurological Disorders - Neuromuscular Conditions". Neurological Disorders - Neuromuscular Conditions.
  20. ^ "Bestway raises £60,000 for Royal Marsden Charity". Talking Retail. 22 January 2013.
  21. ^ "Sairah Sheikh — The Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology". Obs-gyn.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  22. ^ "THE BESTWAY FOUNDATION". Opencharities.org. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Bestway Group celebrates 50 years of philanthropyPakistantoday.com.pk". Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  24. ^ "GroceryAid - Trustees and Patrons". Grocery Aid.
  25. ^ "Crimestoppers Trust Report and annual Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2010" (PDF). Crimestoppers-uk.org. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  26. ^ "Trustee Directors". Crimestoppers-uk.org. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  27. ^ "GroceryAid issues Christmas rallying call". ConvenienceStore.co.uk.
  28. ^ "GroceryAid - Bestway and GroceryAid: a winning combination". Grocery Aid.
  29. ^ Kevin Whitlock. "Bestway's Ascot bash raises £100K for GroceryAid". Wholesalenews.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  30. ^ "GroceryAid - News". Grocery Aid.
  31. ^ "PAKISTAN BRITAIN TRADE AND INVESTMENT FORUM, FINANCE AND MINING BRIEFING EVENT" (PDF). Iptu.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  32. ^ "Zameer Choudrey | OBV". www.obv.org.uk.
  33. ^ "Generous support at The Asian Business Awards helps The British Asian Trust raise over £5,000". The British Asian Trust.
  34. ^ "Mental health challenges: Special appeal launched for Pakistan, BD". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  35. ^ "British Asian Trust - Transforming lives together". British Asian Trust. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  36. ^ "The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall Host a Dinner at Buckingham Palace to Celebrate The British Asian Trust | Prince of Wales". www.princeofwales.gov.uk.
  37. ^ "Advisory Council". CWEIC.
  38. ^ "Bestway Group invites CWEIC UK deputy chairman to Pakistan". Daily Times. 23 February 2020.
  39. ^ "Commonwealth looking for business ties with Pakistan". www.geo.tv.
  40. ^ "CWEIC Deputy Chairman Sir Hugo Swire concludes successful visit to Pakistan". Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council. 25 February 2020.
  41. ^ "The-News-International-Latest-News-Breaking-Pakistan-News". Thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  42. ^ Conservatives appeal for British Pakistani votes as tough 2015 elections near. 18 March 2015 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ "Theresa May in draft deal with EU". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  44. ^ "CFoP announces three new appointments". Conservative Friends. 6 August 2013.
  45. ^ "The-News-International-Latest-News-Breaking-Pakistan-News". Thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  46. ^ "UK conservative party chairman visits Pakistan". Daily Times. 16 April 2019.
  47. ^ "Parliament UK: What's On". calendar.parliament.uk.
  48. ^ "Spoken contributions of Lord Choudrey - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk.
  49. ^ "Covid-19: Economy - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk.
  50. ^ "Queen's Speech - Hansard - UK Parliament".
  51. ^ "Bestway's Zameer Choudrey awarded the Grocer Cup".
  52. ^ "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N8.
  53. ^ "Bestway Group chief Zameer Choudrey receives Sitara-e-Imtiaz".
  54. ^ Shrimpton, David (10 September 2019). "Bestway boss appointed to House of Lords".
  55. ^ "No. 62796". The London Gazette. 15 October 2019. p. 18456.
  56. ^ Report, Recorder (23 October 2019). "Alvi hails Zameer Choudrey's appointment to the House of Lords". Business Recorder.
  57. ^ "Mr. Zameer Choudrey given title of Baron Choudrey" – via www.youtube.com.
  58. ^ "Bestway's CEO takes seat in UK House of Lords". International Cement Review. 6 November 2019.
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Choudrey 		Followed by
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