Firoz Kassam: Difference between revisions
Red Director (talk | contribs) m v1.41 - minor cleanup |
WP:SURNAME |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
'''Firoz Kassam''' (born 1955) is a British businessman. Born and brought up in Tanzania, of Indian descent, he came to Britain at the age of 19.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pearsonlongman.com/business/company/firoka.html |title=Company of the month: The Firoka Group |publisher=Longman Business |accessdate=30 August 2015}}</ref> He owned [[Oxford United F.C.]] from 1999 to 2006,<ref name=merrytakeover/> and was named the 309th wealthiest person in the UK in the ''[[Sunday Times Rich List 2009]]'' with an estimated fortune of £180 million.<ref>[http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_2009/ ''Sunday Times Rich List 2009'' online edition]</ref> |
'''Firoz Kassam''' (born 1955) is a British businessman. Born and brought up in Tanzania, of Indian descent, he came to Britain at the age of 19.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pearsonlongman.com/business/company/firoka.html |title=Company of the month: The Firoka Group |publisher=Longman Business |accessdate=30 August 2015}}</ref> He owned [[Oxford United F.C.]] from 1999 to 2006,<ref name=merrytakeover/> and was named the 309th wealthiest person in the UK in the ''[[Sunday Times Rich List 2009]]'' with an estimated fortune of £180 million.<ref>[http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_2009/ ''Sunday Times Rich List 2009'' online edition]</ref> |
||
Starting out with a [[fish and chip shop]], |
Starting out with a [[fish and chip shop]], Kassam made his fortune as a slum hotelier and in the 1980s was labelled a "merchant of misery".<ref name=allypally/> He bought run-down [[London]] hostels and hotels and was paid by local councils to fill them with homeless people and [[Refugees|asylum seekers]], until the inmates rebelled over the conditions in which they were being housed.<ref name=allypally>{{cite news |
||
|title=From slum landlord to Mr Ally Pally |
|title=From slum landlord to Mr Ally Pally |
||
|first=Keith |
|first=Keith |
||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
In 1999, Kassam bought [[Oxford United F.C.]] for £1, also taking over its debts, estimated to be in the region of £13m. In 2000, he resumed building a 12,500-capacity stadium at Minchery Farm on the edge of [[Oxford]], which he called the [[Kassam Stadium]]. Construction of this stadium had actually been in progress since 1997, but was suspended in the early stages due to the club's financial problems. The fourth side of the stadium was left empty due to Oxford's decline in the league, as they had dropped down two divisions while the stadium was being built. The development includes a hotel, cinema, bowling alley, gym, health centre and restaurants. Oxford United played its first game there on 18 August 2001, in [[Football League Third Division|Division Three]] of the [[Football League]]. Kassam sold the football club in 2006,<ref name=merrytakeover>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/o/oxford_utd/4832100.stm| title=Merry completes Oxford takeover | publisher=''[[BBC Sport]]''| accessdate=2009-01-31 | date=2006-03-22}}</ref> but retained ownership of the stadium through his company Firoka with Oxford United (and later also [[London Welsh RFC]]) as tenants. Oxford United's old home, the [[Manor Ground, Oxford|Manor Ground]] in [[Headington]], was sold by Kassam, first to his own holding company for £6 million, and then to developers for £12 million in 1999. The ground has since been demolished and developed into the Manor Hospital,<ref>[http://www.nuffieldhospitals.org.uk/az_hospital_home.asp?hid=48 Manor Hospital]</ref> which opened in October 2004. |
In 1999, Kassam bought [[Oxford United F.C.]] for £1, also taking over its debts, estimated to be in the region of £13m. In 2000, he resumed building a 12,500-capacity stadium at Minchery Farm on the edge of [[Oxford]], which he called the [[Kassam Stadium]]. Construction of this stadium had actually been in progress since 1997, but was suspended in the early stages due to the club's financial problems. The fourth side of the stadium was left empty due to Oxford's decline in the league, as they had dropped down two divisions while the stadium was being built. The development includes a hotel, cinema, bowling alley, gym, health centre and restaurants. Oxford United played its first game there on 18 August 2001, in [[Football League Third Division|Division Three]] of the [[Football League]]. Kassam sold the football club in 2006,<ref name=merrytakeover>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/o/oxford_utd/4832100.stm| title=Merry completes Oxford takeover | publisher=''[[BBC Sport]]''| accessdate=2009-01-31 | date=2006-03-22}}</ref> but retained ownership of the stadium through his company Firoka with Oxford United (and later also [[London Welsh RFC]]) as tenants. Oxford United's old home, the [[Manor Ground, Oxford|Manor Ground]] in [[Headington]], was sold by Kassam, first to his own holding company for £6 million, and then to developers for £12 million in 1999. The ground has since been demolished and developed into the Manor Hospital,<ref>[http://www.nuffieldhospitals.org.uk/az_hospital_home.asp?hid=48 Manor Hospital]</ref> which opened in October 2004. |
||
Kassam also owns the historic mansion and grounds of [[Heythrop Park]] which he purchased in 1999 for £15m. The site recently underwent a £50 million rebuilding programme and has been developed into a luxury hotel and spa with an 18-hole championship golf course and restored landscape gardens. In August 2005, he purchased [[Studley Castle]] in [[Warwickshire]], a hotel and conference centre formerly owned by [[Phoenix Venture Holdings]], the consortium who owned carmaker [[MG Rover]] from 2000 until 2005. |
|||
In February 2006, |
In February 2006, Kassam's Firoka company was announced as the preferred bidder for the redevelopment of [[Alexandra Palace]] in London. The whole Palace would be given to Firoka on a 125-year lease for commercial uses. As it is held on a charitable trust, and Firoka is a private company, this proposal was very controversial. It was subject to agreement of the charity commission, which received 350 objections to the lease to develop a multi-use exhibition, leisure and entertainment complex. On 5 October 2007 in the High Court, Mr Justice Sullivan granted an application by a member of the conservationist Save Ally Pally group to quash the Charity Commission's Order authorizing the lease.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7030648.stm | work=BBC News | title=Court rejects £55m Palace plans | date=5 October 2007}}</ref> |
||
==Notes== |
==Notes== |
||
Revision as of 19:52, 26 April 2017
 |
Firoz Kassam (born 1955) is a British businessman. Born and brought up in Tanzania, of Indian descent, he came to Britain at the age of 19.[1] He owned Oxford United F.C. from 1999 to 2006,[2] and was named the 309th wealthiest person in the UK in the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 with an estimated fortune of £180 million.[3]
Starting out with a fish and chip shop, Kassam made his fortune as a slum hotelier and in the 1980s was labelled a "merchant of misery".[4] He bought run-down London hostels and hotels and was paid by local councils to fill them with homeless people and asylum seekers, until the inmates rebelled over the conditions in which they were being housed.[4]
In 1999, Kassam bought Oxford United F.C. for £1, also taking over its debts, estimated to be in the region of £13m. In 2000, he resumed building a 12,500-capacity stadium at Minchery Farm on the edge of Oxford, which he called the Kassam Stadium. Construction of this stadium had actually been in progress since 1997, but was suspended in the early stages due to the club's financial problems. The fourth side of the stadium was left empty due to Oxford's decline in the league, as they had dropped down two divisions while the stadium was being built. The development includes a hotel, cinema, bowling alley, gym, health centre and restaurants. Oxford United played its first game there on 18 August 2001, in Division Three of the Football League. Kassam sold the football club in 2006,[2] but retained ownership of the stadium through his company Firoka with Oxford United (and later also London Welsh RFC) as tenants. Oxford United's old home, the Manor Ground in Headington, was sold by Kassam, first to his own holding company for £6 million, and then to developers for £12 million in 1999. The ground has since been demolished and developed into the Manor Hospital,[5] which opened in October 2004.
Kassam also owns the historic mansion and grounds of Heythrop Park which he purchased in 1999 for £15m. The site recently underwent a £50 million rebuilding programme and has been developed into a luxury hotel and spa with an 18-hole championship golf course and restored landscape gardens. In August 2005, he purchased Studley Castle in Warwickshire, a hotel and conference centre formerly owned by Phoenix Venture Holdings, the consortium who owned carmaker MG Rover from 2000 until 2005.
In February 2006, Kassam's Firoka company was announced as the preferred bidder for the redevelopment of Alexandra Palace in London. The whole Palace would be given to Firoka on a 125-year lease for commercial uses. As it is held on a charitable trust, and Firoka is a private company, this proposal was very controversial. It was subject to agreement of the charity commission, which received 350 objections to the lease to develop a multi-use exhibition, leisure and entertainment complex. On 5 October 2007 in the High Court, Mr Justice Sullivan granted an application by a member of the conservationist Save Ally Pally group to quash the Charity Commission's Order authorizing the lease.[6]
Notes
- ^ "Company of the month: The Firoka Group". Longman Business. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Merry completes Oxford takeover". BBC Sport. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sunday Times Rich List 2009 online edition
- ^ a b Dovkants, Keith (2 February 2006). "From slum landlord to Mr Ally Pally". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Manor Hospital
- ^ "Court rejects £55m Palace plans". BBC News. 5 October 2007.
External links
- "Development threat to the palace, where television was born" (Independent article on development plans, 30 December 2006)
- "Firoka One Step Closer To Securing Alexandra Palace"
- "TV studios under threat", 29 October 2006 (Account from MP about Firoz Kassam and future of TV studios)
- Ally Pally faces legal challenge (Controversy over Kassam's proposed takeover of Alexandra Palace.)