Last week, I had the privilege of hosting the British Asian Trust Annual Dinner and the honour of being presented to His Majesty The King.
As I look back at the photos, I feel a tremendous sense of pride in the journey that has brought my family to this point.
Last week’s event was a wonderful celebration of the contribution that leading British Asian families make to our country. It was a moment, too, to remember that, behind every successful business, invariably lies a story of remarkable hard work, self-sacrifice and perseverance.
My own family’s story began long before Westcombe’s.
Over a century ago, the Pankhania family left Gujarat for East Africa. My father, Vraj Pankhania, was born in Kenya, where he recalls walking to school barefoot as a child. He arrived in Britain in 1969 with little more than a belief in a brighter future for his family and a limitless capacity for good, old-fashioned hard work.
Six years after arriving in the UK, and armed with a £5,000 bank loan, he purchased a house on Westcombe Hill in Blackheath, South East London. That investment formed the foundations of what was eventually to become the Westcombe Group.
Growing up, my brother Sunil Pankhania and I were immersed in our father’s business from an early age. Whilst many of my friends spent their school holidays on beaches or playing computer games, I willingly spent mine on building sites, filling skips and learning the value of hard work. I may not have fully appreciated the benefits of those lessons at the time but, today, I realise how much they shaped my approach to business.
Now, over 50 years later, the Westcombe Group is of substantial scale but remains a family business at its core. My father serves as our Chairman and my brother Sunil as Group Operations Director, while my wife, Shraddha, plays a pivotal role in developing the work of the Westcombe Foundation.
The values that built Westcombe, namely hard work, family, community and giving back, still underpin our business today. They are also the reason why supporting organisations such as the British Asian Trust matters so much to us.
Looking around the room last week, I was reminded that ours is far from a unique story. In fact, there are thousands of stories just like ours – families who arrived in Britain with little, worked tirelessly, created opportunities for others and gave back to the communities they were proud enough to call home.
Britain remains one of the greatest countries on earth for those prepared to work hard, believe in themselves and one another, take risks and build something of real and lasting value. Nothing can or should ever detract from that. People spend too much time denigrating our country without remembering how fortunate all of us are to be here.
For that, for the journey my family has been fortunate enough to make, and to everyone who has played a part in helping us along the way, I am grateful.