London’s Indian Billionaire

Surinder Arora, Founder and Chairman, Arora Group, better known for the slew of hotels adjoining Heathrow and other airports, does not forget his humble beginnings. So, it is with a sense of pride that he relates his upward journey, and becoming the owner of the top-star Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel where he once worked as a waiter. The secret to his success, he confesses, are the lessons his mother taught him, on hard work, humility and integrity.

Surinder Arora is the Founder and Chairman of the Arora Group. In May 2019, following a revaluation of his hotels, his net worth rose by £780 million to £1.129 billion. Having arrived in the UK as a teenager from India, Surinder founded the business in 1999, running a luxurious four-star hotel at Heathrow for airline staff. From there, he built a business based on strong principles of enterprise, including the purchase of the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel in 2012, where he had worked as a waiter in the 1970s.

Today, the Arora Group is a successful private group of UK-focused companies, specialist in property, construction and hotel management divisions. The Arora Group owns and manages a diverse portfolio of assets across Britain’s key business locations, with a particular presence in airport regions.

Surinder and his wife Sunita are also founders of the Arora Charitable Foundation, supporting social responsibility initiatives in the UK and overseas. The Foundation’s charitable initiatives have raised a combined total of over £1.9 million to date since its inception in 2010. Surinder has been honoured with a number of awards, including the “Corporate Responsibility” category at the London and South East Institute of Director Awards 2016, “CEO of the Year” at the UK Private Business Awards in 2016, while earlier this year, the Group was awarded “Business of the Year” at the Asian Business Awards.

Here is the astounding story of his stupendous success. Read on…

Surinder Arora

"Many people think that they’re winners when they are on the top of the hill. But in my book, the real winners are those that are down in the valleys, pushing themselves up. And if you push yourself up once in life, you’ll keep climbing"

The founders of Arora Group was established by both,
Surinder and Sunita Arora

FROM PUNJAB TO LONDON

‘My parents had settled in Sultanpur Lodhi, Punjab, after the Indo-Pak separation in 1947. At that time, they had three children-my two elder brothers and my sister. My mom’s younger sister did not have any children so they adopted my sister. When I was born, obviously, my parents now had three boys, so they decided to do a part exchange. They took my sister back and gave me to the other parents when I was just a few weeks old. So, I grew up thinking they were my natural parents.

‘They were quite well to do, unlike my natural parents, so they pampered me a lot. If I would complain to my father against my teacher, he would reprimand the teacher. The school authorities would say that I was not the only child they were dealing with, and to leave them alone. My birth-mom would sometimes visit us and bring a lot of toys, gifts and clothing for me. In 1971, when I was 13 years old, she decided to take me back with her to London where they now lived. She had to make this decision because on one of her visits, she found me carrying a knife, gambling and smoking behind the scenes.

‘She convinced my adopted parents that she would take me, educate me and send me back. I could not accompany her immediately due to some technicalities. Finally, I reached London in April of 1972. When I landed at Heathrow Airport, Mom and Dad had come along with my brother. I said ‘Hello Aunty’ to her. We went home, which was in a neighbourhood near Heathrow Airport, where Asians, including Punjabis, lived.

‘We were living in a three bedroom house and there was another Punjabi family of four, also staying with us. So, the eight of us were living in a three bedroom house. My parents subsequently told me that they were my real parents. Initially, it was a shock for me, but then I thought, well, I’m actually lucky that I’ve got two moms and two dads.

THE ENGLISH SCHOOL

‘My mom was like an Iron Lady. As I did not know English at all and was very new to London. She visited the local Council office and requested them that I should go to my brothers’ school so that I do not get lost. So I went to the school which was about nine miles away from my home. They put me in the refresher class where all foreign students learnt English. After a couple of months, one of my classmates convinced me to bunk afternoon class and go for a swim. I told him I didn’t know how to swim, but he insisted. While we went off, the school called my parents to say that I was missing. They were worried and were standing outside the house. I reached home at the normal time, as if back from school. My mom asked me where I had come from. When I told her I came from school, she gave me a few slaps. She said if you lie to me again, I will keep you out of the house. If you kill someone but tell me the truth, I will protect you but don’t ever lie to me. So that was the start of my life.

‘And then I realised how hard my parents worked, especially my mom. She used to leave home early before 6 AM; come home at 4 PM and cook for us and after dinner, she would go out again. One day, I asked her where she went after dinner, and she took me along with her. She opened an office building and started cleaning. Then she went to another office. During the weekends, she did three jobs including cooking food for students in an Indian school. She toiled so much because she wanted to give her children a good education.

MY FIRST JOB

‘Inspired by my mom, when I was only 15 years, I went to the local market and asked a person at a store whether there was a job for me. He said, yes, I can work from 8 AM to 6 PM and he would give me1.50 pounds a day. I started working with him to try to really learn the value of money, hard work and respect. I didn’t get a good education due to my poor English. So as an 18 year old, I joined British Airways as a junior clerk. My mission was to be a pilot, but I didn’t have the education. I couldn’t afford to do it the other way, that is, by paying for flying lessons myself. Working with British Airways, I was earning 34 pounds a week. It used to cost 31 pounds an hour to learn to fly. After nearly nine months at British Airways, I realised I could only afford one lesson per week. And that was not enough for me to really accelerate towards being a pilot. So, I started working at the Renaissance Hotel from 9 AM to 5:30 PM as a waiter and then go to another hotel at 6 PM and work up to 1 or 2 AM.

‘One day, the financial advisor from the Abbey Life Insurance company came to sell me some life policy or pension fund and I told him I was not interested. One day my mom asked him whether there were any jobs in this company. He said that the company would be interested in part time jobs for which a week’s training was required. I took one week’s leave to take up the training to be a financial advisor. However, I changed my mind at the eleventh hour. I told my mom that I didn’t want to be a financial advisor. I was not going to go around carrying a briefcase, knocking on doors. I would go to America for a week’s holiday instead. And Mom said to me, ‘Beta what have you got to lose? Why don’t you give it a go?’

‘She was so right because when I joined, I realised the company had over four and a half thousand salesman in the country. The branch I was working for had 130 consultants, of whom two thirds were working full time, and I was working part time. I joined them in September 1982. In October 1982, I married my lovely Sunita. Three months after joining them, we had a Christmas party and I went with my newly wed wife to the Christmas party because everyone was there. In the distance, I could see the top table, and we were right at the back of the room because we were nobodies. At the distance, the other 130 advisors and their partners were at the top table with the sales director, the company’s MD and the branch managers, all. The top financial advisor was my old maths teacher. Next year, we got to sit at the top table.

"My mother always said to me that three things in life were very important. Never get big headed because money doesn’t grow on trees. Always keep your head down and always keep your name and reputation by sticking to your word"

FIRST PLUNGE INTO THE HOTEL BUSINESS

‘Over the next six years, I was either number one or number two, and then became the youngest branch manager with this insurance company in the UK. And then suddenly my mom fell ill on her visit to India; she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My whole world fell apart and I resigned so that I could fully attend to her.

‘Twenty months after that while I was coming home from the gym near the airport, I saw four houses put up for sale. Like the Las Vegas strip, Heathrow’s Park Street has a series of hotels. I bought the four houses for 40,000 pounds each, paying 160,000 pounds for them in the auction. They were semi derelict and hadn’t been renovated for over 15 years. I did not know what to do with them but realised there were plenty of hotels around but no guesthouse/budget accommodation. I decided to open a guesthouse and put a telephone line in my kitchen at home as a hotline from where we took bookings. We started off, it took off slowly. And then within another 20 months, I bought all the adjoining properties.

THE BIGGER PLUNGE

‘There was a British Airways crew right opposite Heathrow. I love talking to people, so when I would speak to them, they would rue that they loved New York but hated Heathrow Airport. The reason they stated was that the hotel in New York was owned by British Airways and they got good security. At Heathrow, they were treated like cattle class. So, I went to the British Airways office and asked them if they would be interested in a crew hotel right opposite their centre. They asked me to give a one hour presentation. I knew nothing about hotels. I took a Bangladeshi architect who had built an extension to my house. However, within 20 minutes they realised we didn’t have a clue about running hotels. They said goodbye, and that they would come back to me. I kept chasing them because I always believed in never giving up. Once, a senior person of the airways said I was chasing them because I wanted them to give the money for me to build the hotel. I said I was just interested in the contract. If they give me the contract, I would raise the money myself. Anyway, against all odds, I managed to convince them, & we began building a 350 room hotel. We opened it in 1999.

‘It was such a success that within six months they asked me to build one at Heathrow, then at Gatwick, and the rest is history. After that huge success, in 2005, I learnt that permission had been given to build a new terminal at Heathrow Terminal 5, and for a hotel adjoining it. So I went to the Managing Director at Heathrow Airport, and said, will you consider me as one of the tender bidders? He declined, saying he was only going to consider international five star hospitality brands as they were going to spend 4.5 billion pounds for the terminal. I asked him what if I got the franchise of an international brand. In that case, he said, he would agree to talk.

‘While several brands declined to give me a franchise, I tried Sofitel, but they too declined. Then I travelled to Paris to meet their Chairman. I said, can I just show you how I run my hotels? He said yes, and two and a half months later, they came back and said, we’ve been sending mystery shoppers to your properties and although we do not give franchises, we’re going to make an exception.

‘That was such a turning point for me. We then went through the entire bidding process with the airport. The other two contenders were Marriott and JW Marriott, so everyone in the marketplace said that the Arora Group have no chance to win the bid. However, luckily, we won it. Even the airport manager who had initially declined said he was not only happy with the delivery of our hotel but that it exceeded his expectations. When we opened Sofitel in 2008, Heathrow was voted as the best new airport in the world.

EMOTIONS ON BUYING THE RENAISSANCE HOTEL WHERE HE HAD WORKED AS A WAITER

‘My mother always said to me that three things in life were very important. Never get big headed because money doesn’t grow on trees. Always keep your head down and always keep your name and reputation by sticking to your word. When we opened the first hotel back in the 1990s, I brought in a heavyweight General Manager who had worked in the industry in the UK, Ireland and South Africa. I told him, we must be different from other hotels. He asked me what I meant by that. I said I want to make sure we treat all our staff like family. And our guests like royalty. I can only treat my staff like family if they give me their 100%. If they don’t, then they can’t be my family. It’s two way traffic.

‘The day I walked into The Renaissance Hotel as an owner (where I worked as a waiter in the 1970s), the South Indian guy who was a doorman when I was working there and continued to do so—gave me the biggest hug. He said, you haven’t changed, and I’m really proud of you. That’s something that is important in life. It’s not just about money. It’s not just about egos. It’s all about being normal because we all come with nothing and have to go with nothing.

"Back in the 1970s and 80s, I would hear a lot of foreigners saying they were not getting opportunities or promotions because of their colour. And of course, some of that was true. But the point is whether we should worry about the problems or talk about solutions"

Surinder Arora with one of the many awards for excellence in
his entrepreneurship

EXPONENTIAL EXPANSION OF BUSINESS

‘Firstly, we have just over 6000 rooms. Many people think that they’re winners when they are on the top of the hill. But in my book, the real winners are those that are down in the valleys, pushing themselves up. And if you push yourself up once in life, you’ll keep climbing. We opened our first hotel in 1999 and then grew exponentially. Suddenly, after the 2008 crisis, I probably had one of my worst times ever because in 2008 in March when the Spanish owner of Heathrow Airport, Rafael Del Pino wanted to sell his 32 properties, I bought them for 316 million pounds plus stamp duty and costs. That cost me about 340 million pounds. That was a month after I had bought The Renaissance Hotel. But within four months, my portfolio was down in value by more than 100 to 200 million pounds. A lot of companies would have sunk by them.

That was a real learning curve. I always look back; you always have to conduct post mortems. In life, you should look back and ask yourself where did I go wrong? Where did I go right? What would I do differently in future? In 2008, we were obviously under the thumb of the bankers. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much, like I did, one night, up to 2:30 am. My wife was fast asleep and I just thought, what have I done to you, my wife and my kids? I decided not to give up, and worked so hard, (touch wood), that we bounced back. After that, I said to myself, I was never going to be at the beck and call of lenders again.

‘My next big dream is to build the new Heathrow terminal for around 40 million passengers a year. & I’m sure I’m going to achieve it.

THE COVID-19 IMPACT

‘The year 2008 had been quite bad around the world from the business perspective and then we had 9/11. Now, the current Covid-19 crisis will perhaps look better by the third quarter of this year, but it will take us at least two to three years to get to our pre-Covid numbers, I think.

‘On the personal front, although I would like to continue to work, I would like to go out for more holidays, give more time to my family. Recently, I took my grandson out in our garden, just for a long walk. Things I would never have done, previously.

"You need to understand the value of money. If you have money, you have bigger problems. If you want to succeed, you must have your goals and targets. Your dreams should also be realistic. I would like to say to youngsters, don’t look at the sky. If you want to climb up the ladder, look up, step by step"

The happy family: Kaushal Niruala, Sapna Niruala,
Surinder Arora, Sonia Singh, Inderneel Singh, Sunita Arora,
Dr Rajvinder Arora and Sanjay Arora

AS AN INDIAN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE UK

‘Back in the 1970s and 80s, I would hear a lot of foreigners saying they were not getting opportunities or promotions because of their colour. And of course, some of that is true. But the point is whether we should worry about the problems, or talk about solutions. There have been obstacles along my way but I’ve never really had issues personally. For example, I’ve had a lot of obstacles during the Heathrow expansion but you have to go on. If you’re riding a bicycle and if you get into a headwind, what do you do? You have to pedal harder. So I don’t care what my colour is, and I think that’s why the UK has actually been very good for me.

ROLE OF INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS IN THE UK

‘Of course, that’s been a huge success. Over the last decade, the authorities here have looked at the Asian community as actually adding to the UK GDP. Although I live here and I call the UK my home, I am very proud to be Indian and can never forget India. It is in my blood and my family and contacts are over there. I hope that one day I’ll be spending a lot more time in India. I get even prouder when I look at the success of Indians around the world, be they billionaires or millionaires or leaders in the tech industry, the banking industry or any other.

ADVICE TO YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

‘You need to understand the value of money. If you have money, you have bigger problems. If you want to succeed, you must have your goals and targets. Your dreams should also be realistic. I would like to say to youngsters, don’t look at the sky. If you want to climb up the ladder, look up, step by step. My dear mom would tell me that, and when you look at one step ahead, you look at a step behind too, and you’ll never forget your posture.

PHILOSOPHY OF MY LIFE...

‘In my life, it is about having those dreams and having turned them into reality. It is also about having the right balance as well. Money’s not everything. It’s the respect and love you get, and that’s something that money can’t buy’.

Support with a cause

Sunita Arora

While her first focus was her family, Sunita Arora kept track of the business she had helped to build and chalked out new streams to pursue spearheading charitable pursuits, patronising the arts, as well as giving shape to her own passion working with children...

Sunita Arora is Co-founder and Executive Director of the UK based Arora Group. She has been actively involved in the business since its inception in 1999 and also launched a Group of award winning nurseries for younger children. Her interests include interior design for the business, noteworthy charitable works and support of the arts. Sunita is also one of the founders of the Arora Charitable Foundation, alongside Surinder Arora. The Foundation supports social initiatives in the UK and overseas. Sunita talks to Corporate Citizen about her life and passion

CORPORATE CITIZEN: TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD, THE VALUES THAT SHAPED YOU AND YOUR DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE…

Sunita Arora: I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, where my father was holding a government job. Then, after Idi Amin’s call for the expulsion of Asia’s minorities, mostly Indians, we all decided to leave Kenya and migrate to London. My father was a Civil Servant at New Scotland Yard Head office of UK Police. My mother ended up having to work in factories, as she was not educated. She was compelled to work, as a livelihood cost in London was high. I have two siblings. So, all of us catapulted from a wonderful lifestyle back in Kenya, with people doing things for us, to one where we had to do everything ourselves. My mom is still a typical Punjabi lady who was born in Jalandhar and has never forgotten her roots. Therefore, at home, our lifestyle and food were typically Indian. We were not allowed to indulge in English food habits. My mom was a disciplinarian, whereas my dad loved life and taught us to live well.

CC: Where did you pursue your education?

I went to an English school. One of my regrets for the rest of my life is that my mother wanted me to get married early, as she thought that it would be a good thing for girls to settle down. That meant that I had to sacrifice my dream to pursue a career as a doctor. That’s how I married young. I chose to respect my parents’ decision over my career.

CC: As the Director of the Arora Group, what are your roles and responsibilities?

Since the inception of the company, both of us built the business up together by first investing in just a few houses near Heathrow Airport, which we converted into guest houses. Soon, the company expanded and I stepped away because I had three young children by then. I was aware that I would be the homemaker and he would be doing the work, but I kept close contact with the company. I am still on the board of directors and play a very active role in making sure that the company is going in the right direction. I am completely involved in it every single day.

However, working for children is my passion. So, I got my degrees in childcare and opened three childcare centres for pre-primary children. The fourth one is about to open and they all have been well received by parents for the quality of care and management.

CC: What are the activities of the Arora Charitable Foundation?

We started the Arora Charitable Foundation, as we both wanted to serve charitable causes and give something back to society. Surinder was very busy in his own work so I put in the effort and we launched it in 2010. We have helped over 300 charities including UNICEF for children in India, Lily Foundation which prevents girls from entering prostitution, the Heart Foundation, a diabetic help foundation, and Shari, a small school in India. So far we have donated three million pounds. We annually organise a glittering black tie event where we invite people to come and support our causes. I choose two charities for the year and work very closely with them to make sure that my vision for that charity is realised.

CC: You mentioned in your bio data that you believe in the work life balance. Can you elaborate on that?

Well, for me, the family is the most important part of my dreams in life. Everybody will always have work. When I am working, I focus on my work, but when that is over, I give my complete time to my family, and they are supportive of my work.

"Women now have fought for their place. They should have equal rights as they can do everything a man can do. Why should we be second class citizens? We juggle home-life and work-life as well, as we are good in multi-tasking"

CC: Tell us about your love for arts…

Since the pandemic, artists from various fields have suffered a lot because of the closure of theatres, operas and ballets. And my love for ballet and opera really goes back a very long way. Performing arts is something that I really enjoy. I also support music. We support bands that are struggling and need recognition. I also dabble in painting as well.

CC: Can you compare the women of India of your generation and those in the UK?

India is catching up with the trend of women of being equal to men. Definitely, during my mother’s generation, there was a gender gap. Women now have fought for their place. They should have equal rights as they can do everything a man can do. Why should we be second class citizens? We juggle home life and work life as well, as we are good in multi tasking. Whereas a man sometimes can only do one job at a time.

CC: What has been the impact of Covid-19 on you?

It’s been huge in the sense that we have learnt that life is too short. As a family too, we also had to go through it. My experience with Covid-19 has catapulted me to another level. Several thoughts go through your mind, especially when you see on television that people are on ventilators, and they are dying. When you have Covid, you wonder am I going to be the lucky one that gets through this? All of us got it in our family, but I definitely got the worst of it because I have diabetes. I thought my recovery was going to be long. I was not in a mental frame to think that I could get through but for the sake of my family, my children, I needed to make sure that I get better. My daughter in law who is a doctor helped me get through that terrible night when my oxygen levels were really dropping.

What Covid-19 has taught us is that we now need to go forward with our dreams. If we’re going to realise these dreams in two to three years time, we should do it now. We should experience life and just live it. We should not be complacent, thinking that we have another five years to do this. We might not.

CC: You go on holidays often. Which is your favourite destination?

We have a home in Dubai and we were recently away for about eight weeks. We love it there as it is very calming, and thanks to technology, we could still work from there as well. The other places that I love are Canada, the USA and Spain. I also like going for spiritual retreats. So yes, we love travelling, and we will be travelling more now, once the travel starts.

CC: What is the philosophy of life that you live by?

Life is too short, so live it but take care of your health. People who were fit had more of a chance of survival during the pandemic. One must look after one’s weight and try to overcome any lifestyle disease that you may be suffering from, as it will impact your life. You just need to take care of yourself and life will take care of you.

Mutual Admiration

Surinder Arora & Sunita Arora

Sunita & Surinder Arora have knit their life’s partnership in harmony, happiness and humility. A glimpse…

JAB WE MET

Surinder: The next year is our 40th wedding anniversary. Before we met each other, we both had different partners but it didn’t work out. This time, I wanted to get to know the girl before I could commit to her. I can’t find enough words to say how happy, proud and grateful I am to Sunita. I used to be working all the time, seven days a week and it is Sunita who has single handedly brought up the children and now is an adorable grandmother too. She is the most incredible person I know. She has made sure that she fulfilled my dream of looking after my family my sister, mom and dad, so amazingly.

Sunita: We were thrown together by destiny, you could say. Before that, I was engaged to somebody else. We met through a mutual friend whom my mother knew. So she brought us together. I was not willing to meet anyone because I had said that I was not going to get married yet. My father did not want us to go out with each other but we went ahead and did it the English way. And so I would say, it was a love marriage.

I ADMIRE HIM BECAUSE…

Sunita: He is a very self driven person. It surprises me that he can be up at 7 AM and literally be at work. He has phone calls and Zoom meetings until 9 PM. He got a lot of support from his mother who encouraged him to pursue his desires. He has participated in several sports including hockey. I was surprised when I learnt that when he was at home, he would cook for his mother. He was always there for his mother. He is an amazing person because no matter what the challenge, he gets on with it. We call him Mr Fixit. His work ethic is amazing. And he’s great at what he does. I mean, he’s built an amazing business and is well respected by people and is known as Mr Humble.

Surinder: Having that understanding is very important. I think Sunita is much more brilliant than I am. And I get on with it. So it’s really about having that chemistry. And of course, it’s true about every relationship, be it the marriage or friendship, you’ll always have misunderstandings, it’s just about how you actually sit down and sort them out. I have learned a lot from Sunita and value our great relationship. Even if I’m touring, I just yearn to come back home. I don’t want to be away from the family.

"I was surprised when I learnt that when he was at home, he would cook for his mother. He was always there for his mother. He is an amazing person because no matter what the challenge, he gets on with it"

- Sunita

Love blossoms: Young Surinder and Sunita Arora

MARRIAGE MANTRAS

Sunita: It has not always been easy. There will always be times when you think I just want to give up and do not want to go any further. I want to see whether the grass is greener on the other side. I think what keeps you going, are the feelings for each other and introspecting on the reasons why you’re still together. Time and again, the answer is that the love that you have for each other never goes away. Each of the spouses has to work through the problems, by bouncing off your feelings at that time with the other. If I have a problem at work, I will bounce it off to him and he’ll give me the correct reason because he has the mind of a businessman. Whereas, if I ask him to solve a deeply emotional situation, he might not be able to answer. I think what keeps us going is family support and love for each other.

CHILD UPBRINGING

Sunita: These days, especially with the pandemic, many children have mental issues. Something that I’m actually studying at the moment, is to know how this whole pandemic has impacted children’s minds. They were confined to the home, so going out has actually become a fear factor for children. Also, during the pandemic, we were not allowed to see our grandchildren for nearly five months. When I finally saw two of them, I really wanted to hug them but they said, no, you’re not allowed to hug us. The children understand this pandemic so quickly. But definitely, when we come out of it, we have to think of the children as they need some time to heal, since freedom has been denied to them.

FAMILY TIES…

Sunita: We have three children two daughters and a son and my wish for all of them was to give something I didn’t have freedom and education. I’m very proud of all three of them. One daughter is a lawyer, the other has a master’s degree besides other degrees, and my son has done an MBA. All of them have had the opportunity to go to fantastic schools. They pursued the careers they wanted to. I wanted independence for them. When it came to dating partners, I wanted them to have the freedom to do so and they have picked the most incredible partners for life. So I think giving children a choice in life helps them to get on with their life in a happier way. They are all happily married and I’m very proud to see my grandchildren riding ponies and going to gyms. They too are doing what they like to do as they have the freedom to do so.