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Birmingham
based Amrik S Uppal, Chairman of East & West Restaurants Group,
scooped top honours at this year's Lloyds TSB Central Jewel Awards.
The winner of the Retail Food
& Franchise Excellence Jewel Award, was chosen from thousands of
nominations from across the region, spanning business, education,
politics and the charity sector. The panel of judges for the event
faced a tough challenge selecting the final winners from this high
calibre selection of nominees.
Now in its sixth year, the event
was held on Saturday 21st June 2008 at the NEC Hilton, Birmingham and
was hosted by GMTV's, Claire Nasir.
Eight coveted Lloyds TSB Jewel
Awards were announced on the night for Business & Commerce
Excellence, Entrepreneur Excellence, Healthcare & Education
Excellence, Professional Excellence, Public Service Excellence,
Retail Food & Franchise Excellence, and a new award launched this
year for the Future Leaders, as well as the prestigious Lifetime
Achievement Jewel Award.
East & West Restaurants Group
has been the talk of the town in Birmingham and beyond for over two
decades. It is the name behind innovative dining concepts such as
Jimmy Spice's World Buffet, Blue Mango, Indian Brasserie & Bar,
NYC Bar & Lounge and the internationally renowned Shimla Pinks
chain of restaurants.
Arriving in the UK in the late
1970s, Uppal first began work in the Duport foundry in Dudley. He
then moved to Glasgow to work with his uncle and cousins in their
grocery business. In search of pastures new, Uppal acquired a shop
with help from his best friend and business partner, and soon
embarked upon opening an Indian restaurant - Shimla Pinks - in
Johnstone, Ayrshire in the late 1980s. This was followed by the
opening of two further restaurants, East India Company in Stirling
and the Killermont Polo club in Glasgow.
Uppal sold up in 2001 to
concentrate on other projects and in 2003 he acquired the old
Glassworks in Regency Wharf, Broad Street, Birmingham, launching
Shimla Pinks upon the Midlands. Further units were to follow in
Oxford, Nottingham, Manchester, Leicester and London. Group turnover
is expected to break the £10million mark this year, cementing
East & West Restaurants Group's place as one of the leading Asian
UK restaurant groups.
Truett Tate, Group Executive
Director, Wholesale & International Banking, Lloyds TSB, said: "The
continued success story of British Asian firms is an inspiration to
the wider business community. Currently, Asian owned firms are
outpacing other companies in their rate of growth and are making
their mark across fields as diverse as culture, finance, retail and
professional services.
"Our sponsorship of the
Jewel Awards is just one way that Lloyds TSB is helping to recognise
and develop this success. We have established ourselves as a bank
that is dedicated to serving Britain's changing communities. We are
continuing to develop our range of Islamic financial services and are
always exploring new ways to meet the needs of our Asian customers."
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