Bollygarch’s flight from poverty landed him on rich list
Kenyan who made his fortune in the UK says fear of foreigners overblown
LOUISE ARMITSTEAD
FOR Briton Vijay Patel, there is an irony about being celebrated on the Asian Rich List this weekend by compatriots and politicians who are torn over Scottish independence, quitting the EU and what to do about immigration.
The millionaire says his success is the direct result of the UK’s openness and his own focus on borderless trade.
“We are immigrants and this country has made it possible for us to prosper,” said the founder and chief executive of pharmaceutical conglomerate Waymade.
“Of course we worked hard, but
The vast majority of immigrants want to work hard and better themselves
we are also grateful for the opportunity.”
With his brother Bhikhu, Patel, 64, has amassed a fortune of £500million (about R8.8-billion), positioning the pair as the 14th richest Asians in the UK.
Patel has already started work on a new international arm of his company and a private venturecapital business.
“This is me through and through,” said Patel. “I love building global businesses. I always knew that if I wanted to be a player, I had to focus not only on the UK, but abroad too.”
Patel admits that part of his drive was an instinctive flight from poverty. He was born in a Kenyan village, the son of a timber merchant who died when Patel was just five.
“There was no social security or welfare. We were seriously poor. And if you’ve known that deprivation, you never want to go back there,” he said.
But Patel is not known for his lavish tastes, either, despite living on “a beautiful estate” in Essex. Apart from a fleet of Range Rovers outside, there are no signs of the ostentatious trappings of his fellow “Bollygarchs”. Waymade, too, is still based in an old munitions factory in Basildon.
His real passion is business and he reckons the opportunities in the global pharmaceuticals industry have never been better.
“My philosophy is that pharma is a $1-trillion [about R10.5-trillion] global business and the UK has less than a 4% share,” he said. “The market is huge.”
Boris Johnson agrees. Last week, the mayor of London launched MedCity, a government-funded initiative to promote a “global triangle” of life sciences research comprising London, Oxford and Cambridge. The aim is to unite the teaching hospitals, research units and businesses to build a hub that will steal Boston’s crown as the world centre of medical science.
“We can compete with Boston, for sure,” said Patel. But, he argues, the success hangs on one proviso: the hub has to be open to foreigners.
“In MedCity we have to facilitate and create the fertile ground not just for our people, but also for those outside. We need to invite companies, entrepreneurs and scientists and make it easy for them to come here. That’s the way to create a global hub.”
Patel sympathises with the UK government’s dilemma over immigration. “Open immigration is difficult,” he said. “The infrastructure of schools, hospitals and welfare can’t cope.”
But he argues that the fears are overblown. “The vast majority of immigrants want to work hard and better themselves.”
Patel’s father travelled to Kenya as part of a wave of Indian migrants looking for work on the railways. After his death, his wife had to be resourceful to feed their three young children. “My mother was not particularly educated, but she started a nursery from our house,” said Patel. “The income from that brought us up.”
Patel recalls that she also put “incredible pressure” on her children, two sons and a daughter, to pursue her priorities. “We had a few things drummed into us,” said Patel. “Honesty, integrity and education. She was a tiger mother and fulfilled our needs as mother and father.”
After Kenyan independence in 1964, the opportunities for the family diminished further, said Patel. “The immigrant population suffered because the people wanted education and jobs for Kenyans. So people like us with no money had very little choice.”
But they had British passports, thanks to their father choosing British rather than Kenyan citizenship, and the brothers went to London when they turned 16.
“Our primary task was to finish our education, but we worked for a living too,” said Patel. “I washed dishes, pulled pints, worked as a labourer — anything, really.”