Meenu Malhotra DL
Group Chairman
Meenu was born in 1960 in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He is the eldest son in the fifth generation of a prominent business family.
He always had an intelligent streak which, whilst he only partially applied in his university education (often to the dismay of those that loved him), would come to serve him very well later in life.
He landed in England at the age of 18 for a family wedding. Getting a sense of his surroundings, he soon decided to make this a one-way trip, at least for the time being. Far from both the fortune, but also the construct, of family life in India – England was a chance for him to make his independent way on his own terms. He swapped books and the chance for college, for 90 hours a week working on a shop floor. For that, he earned a princely sum of £30 a week. It was princely, because it was his.
Not one to settle for the routine, business ventures were always in his mind. Having come from the cotton capital of the world, his first venture was a drapery store. The store succeeded, and as a result, soon multiplied. His team multiplied as well, with family and what are now longstanding team members beside him.
He always took comfort in bricks and mortar, which was the wisdom he had from the time. Residential property, commercial property, and ventures into the care home sector followed over the coming years. His first care home was acquired in 1986, and he was particularly proud of his redevelopment of a prominent department store into student accommodations and commercial units in 1991, though this was moments before the economy fell apart.
He fared well through those recessionary years, expanding his care business, taking the opportunity to risk it all and acquire assets that needed turning around, including venturing into the leisure sector through the acquisition and development of public houses. This served him well, and he has never looked back.
Today he is the Chairman of Malhotra Group PLC, which is a multi-sector conglomerate that is proud to employ 1,200 people. Meenu himself, and his businesses, are fortunate to feature regularly in leading publications and rankings.
Outside of his work with Malhotra Group, he is a proud family man, with some of his family playing a leading part in the operational management and succession plans for the business.
His successes have enabled him to cultivate new passions, by giving back as a mentor to young businesses, founding UK-India investment programmes, acting as a McKenzie Friend to his community, and supporting many religious and other charitable ventures.
He remains tenacious, however, and notwithstanding having spent 60 years on the planet – which is a recently attained accolade – he is now starting afresh. He’s finally bought a ticket back to Ludhiana for something other than a friendly visit, and is focussing some of his businesses energies there, to develop thousands of affordable housing units, social venues, and schools, in a society that is rapidly modernising. His plans also include acquiring an 18 Course Golf Course which will add a dimension to a life away from the hustle bustle of otherwise hectic business activities .
He is very aware of his good fortune, and now spends his time learning and expanding his horizons, which he is able to do by virtue of being surrounded by great friends. He tries to use his experiences to help those around him as much as he can, and actively seeks out any opportunities to pay his good fortune forward.
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