Simon Arora
BornNovember 1969 (age 54)
NationalityBritish
EducationCambridge University
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseShalni Arora
Children2 daughters
RelativesBobby 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]

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 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

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]

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. ^ a b c "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. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  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.


Categories