Asif Aziz is a London-based billionaire entrepreneur[1] and landlord. As the founder and Chief Executive of Criterion Capital, he is known for owning and operating key landmarks including the London Trocadero and Criterion Building in Piccadilly Circus. He has faced criticism for forcing the closure of cultural institutions.[2][3]
Born in Malawi in 1967, Aziz moved to London at the age of six.[4] He acquired his first London property in the 1980s, whilst still at school. He graduated from the British American College London with a business baccalaureate.
Career
In an interview with City AM, Aziz said that, "When I was still in school, I was intrigued by the London property market. My first ‘real’ job was at Morgan Grenfell Laurie where I learnt from the best in the commercial property industry. My first actual job was at McDonald’s flipping burgers." Aziz added, "I fell in love with property when I was just 16 and made my first acquisition."[5]
In 2005, the Evening Standard reported that he bought his first property aged 16 at an auction he visited with a relative, after saying he was 18. He bid £1.9m for the building opposite South Kensington tube station.[6][7]
Aziz worked for property investment company Morgan Grenfell Laurie before moving back to Angola, Africa in 1993 where he made his fortune through the setting up of two food manufacturing businesses, including Golfrate Angola, which he sold in 2005. That same year he returned to the UK and established Criterion Capital, which acquired the London Trocadero leisure complex, the London Pavilion (1 Piccadilly Circus) and The Criterion Building (1 Jermyn Street). Today, Criterion Capital is the biggest landowner in the Leicester Square - Piccadilly Circus corridor.[8]
Through Criterion, the Trocadero entertainment complex was closed down in 2011 and re-opened in 2020 as the Zedwell Piccadilly - a hotel with 728 windowless rooms and a rooftop bar.[11][12]
Aziz is reputed to be Britain's seventh richest Muslim in the UK.[13]The Daily Telegraph ranked Asif Aziz as number 12 out of 40 in its list of successful entrepreneurs.[14]
Controversies
Aziz has been criticised by the political magazine Private Eye for using companies registered in the Isle of Man to buy properties in London, especially pubs, and then close them down to replace them with more lucrative housing developments.[15]
In 2017, Aziz argued at the High Court that his wife of 14 years was not entitled to a share of his fortune, then estimated at £1.1bn, because they had "not legally married". The couple, who have four children, agreed a settlement.[16]
In 2020, The Times asked if Aziz was "the meanest landlord in Britain", due to the way he had treated tenants during the pandemic.[16][17]
In 2022 he was criticised by Novara Media for continuing to buy community spaces like bars and nurseries and redeveloping them into luxury apartments.[18]
In late 2024, Aziz's property company, Criterion Capital, became associated with the planned closure of the world's first YMCA, located on London's Great Russell Street.[19] The decision to close the historic facility, which had served as a vital community hub since 1844, sparked significant public outcry and a grassroots "Save YMCA Club" campaign.[20] Campaigners criticized Criterion Capital for prioritizing redevelopment over preserving the site's community purpose and urged collaboration to explore sustainable alternatives.[21]
The company again came under discussion in early 2025 after the Prince Charles Cinema stated that their landlord Zedwell LSQ Ltd (owned by Criterion Capital) were demanding both a significant raise in rent and a 6 month break clause in the new lease.[22] A petition entitled "Save The Prince Charles Cinema" was set up by the cinema in response. The petition gathered 115,000 signatures in its first two days.[23]
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