Bobby Arora

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

Bobby Arora
BornJanuary 1972 (age 51)
NationalityBritish
OccupationBusinessman
TitleTrading director, B&M
RelativesSimon Arora (brother)
Robin Arora (brother)

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][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

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
  1. Stocks. "Stocks". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. "Bobby ARORA - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  3. 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.
  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. "Simon and Bobby Arora - B&M". Managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  6. James Ferguson (2 July 2010). "Brothers on their way to creating the new Woolies". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  7. McCoid, Sophie; Neville, Simon (12 November 2020). "Liverpool billionaire B&M brothers to net £44m windfall". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  8. "'We like to keep it simple': the rapid rise of B&M's Arora brothers". The Guardian. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  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. 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. 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. 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. 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. "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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