Bobby Arora Explained

Bobby Arora
Nationality:British
Occupation:Businessman
Trading director, B&M
Relatives:Simon Arora (brother)
Robin Arora (brother)

Bobby Arora (born January 1972) is a British billionaire businessman, trading director of the retail chain B&M.[1]

Early life

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

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

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] 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.[12] 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] 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] 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.

Personal life

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stocks . Stocks . Bloomberg . 3 June 2017.
  2. Web site: Bobby ARORA - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House). 29 November 2020. find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. en.
  3. Book: Bloodworth, J. . Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain . . 2018 . 978-1-78649-015-5 . 24 September 2023 . 113.
  4. Web site: Winchester . Levi . 28 June 2021 . Billionaire B&M brothers worth £2.5bn after dad moved to UK with '£10 in pocket' . 24 September 2023 . mirror . en.
  5. Web site: Simon and Bobby Arora - B&M . Managementtoday.co.uk . 3 June 2017.
  6. Web site: James Ferguson . Brothers on their way to creating the new Woolies . Manchester Evening News . 2 July 2010. 3 June 2017.
  7. Web site: McCoid. Sophie. Neville. Simon. 12 November 2020. Liverpool billionaire B&M brothers to net £44m windfall. 29 November 2020. Liverpool Echo. en.
  8. Web site: 7 January 2021. 'We like to keep it simple': the rapid rise of B&M's Arora brothers. 11 February 2021. The Guardian. en.
  9. Web site: Chapman . Ben . What support is the government offering to get through the coronavirus pandemic? . . Independent Digital News & Media Ltd . 7 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107165919/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/coronavirus-financial-support-government-money-help-rent-bills-a9407776.html . 7 January 2021 . . en . 24 March 2020.
  10. Web site: Jahshan . Elias . Chancellor extends one-year business rates holiday for all retailers - Retail Gazette . Retail Gazette . 7 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107171347/https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/03/chancellor-extends-one-year-business-rates-holiday-for-all-retailers/ . 7 January 2021 . . en . 18 March 2020.
  11. Web site: Chapman . Ben . B&M Bargains boss pays himself £30m after bumper sales during lockdown . . Independent Digital News & Media Ltd . 7 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107185005/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/bm-bargains-simon-arora-dividend-results-b1783823.html . 7 January 2021 . . en . 7 January 2021.
  12. Web site: Wood . Zoe . Kollewe . Julia . £1.8bn-plus in Covid rates relief to be handed back as B&M joins list . . 7 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107171620/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/03/sainsburys-hands-back-440m-in-covid-business-rates-relief . 7 January 2021 . . en . 3 December 2020.
  13. Web site: Pratley . Nils . Treasury messed up over B&M's Covid rates freebie . . 7 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107182628/https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2020/nov/12/treasury-b-and-m-covid-rates-freebie-shops-business-rates-relief . 7 January 2021 . . en . 12 November 2020.
  14. Web site: Partridge . Joanna . Lockdown sales boost at B&M prompts £250m special dividend . The Guardian . 7 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210107183019/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/12/lockdown-sales-boost-at-bm-prompts-250m-special-dividend . 7 January 2021 . . en . 12 November 2020.
  15. News: Sunak takes RAF chopper to Dover, just over an hour away by train. https://web.archive.org/web/20230605115516/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/05/sunak-takes-raf-chopper-to-dover-just-over-an-hour-away-by-train. 5 June 2023. The Guardian. 5 June 2023. 5 June 2023.

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