Bobby Arora (born January 1972) is a British billionaire businessman, trading director of the retail chain B&M.[1]
Bobby Arora | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1972 (age 52) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Trading director, B&M |
| Relatives | Simon Arora (brother) Robin Arora (brother) |
Early life edit
Bobby was born to an Indian family in January 1972.[2][3] His businessman father had immigrated to the UK from Delhi in the 1960s.[4]
Career edit
In 1995, he went into business with his brother Simon Arora, and founded Orient Sourcing Services, 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][6] He has been trading director of B&M since 2005.[1]
Jointly with his brothers Simon and Robin, they have made £2.1 billion since taking over the Blackpool-based grocery chain in 2004. Their earnings soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8]
COVID-19 rates relief edit
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 is said to 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 edit
Simon describes his brother Bobby as a "born trader".[6] Arora lives in Hale Barns near Altrincham, next door to his brother Simon. In May 2023 a helicopter carrying Prime Minister Rishi Sunak landed in Bobby Arora's back garden.[15]
References edit
- ^ a b Stocks. "Stocks". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ "Bobby ARORA - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Simon and Bobby Arora - B&M". Managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ a b James Ferguson (2 July 2010). "Brothers on their way to creating the new Woolies". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ McCoid, Sophie; Neville, Simon (12 November 2020). "Liverpool billionaire B&M brothers to net £44m windfall". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ "'We like to keep it simple': the rapid rise of B&M's Arora brothers". The Guardian. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "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.
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