Sanjay Majhu
Born in Kenya and of Indian ethnic parents, Sanjay arrived in Scotland in 1978. His father ran a grocery store in the southside of Glasgow whilst his mother worked in the Civil Service.
In 1991 Sanjay joined Harlequin Restaurants as a restaurant manager and successfully ran the Spice of Life which he has always maintained was his most valid experience in running a business. With the owners not willing to sell the business, in 1997 Sanjay decided to down tools and study Pharmacy after a chance meeting with a customer at the Spice of Life. She happened to be one of the senior lecturers in the Strathclyde School of Pharmacy and convinced Sanjay to apply.
After qualifying in 1999, Sanjay went straight back to the Spice of Life and noticed things were very quiet. He offered a good package to the owners who relented and finally sold the property to Sanjay. In 2003 Sanjay acquired his first pharmacy in Saltcoats and this is where Apple Pharmacy began. With two more acquisitions in 2003, and three in 2004, very soon Apple Pharmacy was a six strong pharmacy business with shops in West coast, Central and East in Edinburgh.
In 2005 the owners of Ashoka Group approached Sanjay to buy the largest chain of Indian restaurants in the UK. It was an offer which could not be refused and the deal was struck in March 2005.
Today Apple Harlequin has a group turnover of £17 million with interests ranging from Pharmacies, Restaurants, Commercial and Residential Property, Electrical Wholesale and Online Voucher Site YesDealOn which offers customers the best deals available within the group.
This year Sanjay and his wife launched the Ashoka Cookschool which has already booked over 2,000 customers on its courses which range from Chapati making classes to Full Day Curry, Rice and Pakora Classes. This summer, Sanjay and Jaginder are launching their first Cookschool Restaurant where customers can book a table as well as watch the Cookschool live in action.
His owned brands include Apple Pharmacy Group, Ashoka Restaurants, Green Chilli Café, Las Ramblas Tapas and Ashoka Shaks.
His interests include music, occasionally singing in his Punjabi Folk Band Bombay Talkie, squash which he claims he is getting worse at, and spending time with his family. He currently runs the business with his wife Jaginder and has four children.
Les Meikle
From School, Les trained as a Quantity Surveyor before moving into the Building Preservation industry as a 20 y.o, subsequently progressing to Managing & Marketing Director of the UKs 2nd largest National Preservation Company before being made redundant in 1996 following the company's takeover by an American Co a few years earlier.Currently Managing Director and owner of Wise Property Care Ltd. A company specialising in the Detection and Eradication of Woodworm, Wet & Dry Rot, Rising Dampness and Basement Waterproofing. The company established in 1996 is now the 2nd largest company of its type in Scotland and the largest family owned company of its type in the UK.
Since launch in Sept 1996, Wise Property Care Ltd has grown profitably to a turnover of £5.4M with some 80 full time employees and branches throughout Scotland. In 2002 the company went through the process of rebranding and in 2004 restructured to introduce an Operations Director to the Board.
In January 2006, Wise Property Care Ltd purchased the 5th largest of its competitors in Scotland. This acquisition added some £1m of additional sales and took Wise close to becoming number one in Scotland.
In 2009 Wise Property Care saw its revenue retreat by approx 25% and the sobering experience of its first loss since the commencement of trading in 1996. The resultant restructuring and cost savings paid dividends in 2010 with sales increasing by 15% and profits which exceeded its previous record year.
As the Preservation Industry consolidates, Wise are expanding by acquiring smaller companies (usually from the administrator) at the rate of one a quarter while launching two new divisions in the first quarter of 2011 focusing on Japanese Knotweed Control and Structural Repair Solutions and anticipate driving growth principally by this means in the short term.
Les is a Fellow of The Chartered Institutes of Marketing and Building, a member of the Institute of Directors and for the last 13 years, a member of the Entrepreneurial Exchange and founder member of "Glasgow Property Professionals Group". Les has also recently been elected as Deputy Chairman of "The Property Care Association" and is a business mentor with Scottish Enterprise and a mentor to Secondary School pupils in East Renfrewshire.
The Italian Bistro, Glasgow
1051 Great Western Road
Glasgow
G12 0XP
0141 339 5575
Show venue on a mapLes Meikle, Wise Property Care, www.wisepropertycare.com
Registered in Scotland. Company registration number SC160976.
Registered office: Barncluith Business Centre, Townhead Street, Hamilton, ML3 7DP. Developed by Mercurytide