Simon Arora

Last updated

Simon Arora
BornNovember 1969 (age 55)
NationalityBritish
Education Cambridge University
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseShalni Arora
Children2 daughters
Relatives Bobby Arora (brother)
Robin Arora (brother)

Simon Arora (born November 1969) is a British billionaire businessman, and former CEO of the retail chain B&M. [1]

Contents

Early life

Simon Arora was born in November 1969 to Indian parents. [2] [3] His businessman father had immigrated to the UK from Delhi in the 1960s. [4] He studied law at Cambridge University and worked at his father's cash and carry. [5]

Career

Arora worked as an analyst for McKinsey, 3i and Barclays. [5]

In 1995, he went into business with his younger brother Bobby Arora, importing homewares from Asia and supplying them to UK retail chains, before buying B&M in 2004, which was then a struggling grocery chain based in Blackpool. [5]

In 2017, Simon and Bobby Arora cashed in £215m of shares and reduced their stake in B&M by a quarter, three years after taking it public. [6]

As of May 2019, the Arora brothers (Simon, Bobby and Robin) jointly have a net worth of £2.26 billion. [7]

Arora stepped down as CEO of B&M in September 2022 following 17 years in the role. He remains an executive director at the company. [8]

Covid-19 rates relief

In March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave business rates relief and furlough payments to businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors. [9] [10] B&M was among several businesses classified as 'essential retailers' and as a result was allowed to remain open when other 'non-essential' businesses had to close. [11] [12] In November 2020, B&M and other retailers were subject to a public outcry for having not handed back payments totalling £1.8 billion intended for propping up retailers prevented from trading due to restrictions, despite making record profits. [13] The retailer declared £296m in profit and as a result issued a £250m special dividend despite having received £38m in business rates relief and £3.7m in furlough payments. [13] [14] The Arora brothers received a combined total of £37m of the special dividend due to their 15% shareholding, which was said to be worth at least £750m. [14] [11] The firm agreed to pay £80m in business rate relief it had saved, a move mirrored by major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. [12]

Personal life

He is married to Shalni Arora, who has a Natural Sciences degree from Cambridge University, and was a co-founder of bio-tech business DxS. [15] They have two daughters. [16]

Arora lives in Hale Barns near Altrincham, next door to his brother Bobby. [17] Arora owns three of the flats at 3–10 Grosvenor Crescent, a Grade II* listed terrace in London's Belgravia district, where he unsuccessfully opposed a legal dispute about concierge services in 2017. [18]

Arora donated £50,000 to the Conservative Party in early 2020. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ "New B&M CEO takes over seven months early". LBN Daily. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Bloodworth, J. (2018). Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain. Atlantic Books. p. 113. ISBN   978-1-78649-015-5 . Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "B & M Retail Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Winchester, Levi (28 June 2021). "Billionaire B&M brothers worth £2.5bn after dad moved to UK with '£10 in pocket'". mirror. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Simon and Bobby Arora - B&M". Managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Billionaire brothers sell stake in UK discounter B&M". Financial Times. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  7. ↑ Britton, Paul (10 May 2019). "The Sunday Times Rich List 2019: The 15 richest people in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and the north west". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "New B&M CEO takes over seven months early". LBN Daily. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Chapman, Ben (24 March 2020). "What support is the government offering to get through the coronavirus pandemic?". The Independent . Northcliffe House, London: Independent Digital News & Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Jahshan, Elias (18 March 2020). "Chancellor extends one-year business rates holiday for all retailers - Retail Gazette". Retail Gazette. Marylebone. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 Partridge, Joanna (12 November 2020). "Lockdown sales boost at B&M prompts £250m special dividend". The Guardian. Kings Place, London. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  12. 1 2 Chapman, Ben (7 January 2021). "B&M Bargains boss pays himself £30m after bumper sales during lockdown". The Independent . Northcliffe House, London: Independent Digital News & Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. 1 2 Wood, Zoe; Kollewe, Julia (3 December 2020). "£1.8bn-plus in Covid rates relief to be handed back as B&M joins list". The Guardian . Kings Place, London. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  14. 1 2 Pratley, Nils (12 November 2020). "Treasury messed up over B&M's Covid rates freebie". The Guardian . Kings Place, London. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "Simon & Shalni Arora - Asian Power CouplesAsian Power Couples". Asianpowercouples.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  16. ↑ James Ferguson (2 July 2010). "Brothers on their way to creating the new Woolies". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  17. ↑ "Sunak takes RAF chopper to Dover, just over an hour away by train". The Guardian . 5 June 2023. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  18. ↑ "Owner of £18m flat wins court fight over lack of concierge staff". 21 November 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "The Electoral Commission - Conservative and Unionist Party (Great Britain), Cash (C0501106)". Electoral Commission (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.


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