Owner, Entrepreneur Charan Gill MBE

Born Punjab, India Career : Arrived in Glasgow in 1963. Left school in 1969 to work at Yarrow Shipyard at 16 years of age. In 1974 went to work at Ashoka as a second job and by 1980 managed the restaurant full time. 1983 was offered a sixth share in the restaurant and borrowed to accept. Charan Gill was the mastermind behind the hugely successful Glasgow based Harlequin Leisure Group, which incorporated Harlequin Restaurant Group, the largest Indian restaurant chain in the UK. Often revered as 'Glasgow's Curry King' by the media over the last 19 years, Charan has turned the Glaswegian passion for curry into a thriving empire of 17 restaurants across Scotland. Charan has received many prestigious awards in recognition of his achievements, including an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Paisley for entrepreneurship. The Asian Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Glasgow Restaurateurs’ Association Lifetime Achievement Award, Great Scot Award (Business Category) and the ‘Spirit of Scotland’ Businessman of the Year Award. During his career, Charan has also been on numerous public and private boards including the NHS Glasgow North Trust, Glasgow the Caring City Charity and Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow. He was also chairman of the Ethnic Minorities into Work strategic group set up by the Scottish Executive, and is currently serving as vice chairman of the Entrepreneurial Exchange. Charan has been listed in the ‘Asian Who’s Who’ for the last 11 years, and this year he was also featured in the international ‘Who’s Who’. Having sold his Harlequin Empire in a multi-million pound deal in 2005, Charan is now concentrating on building links between Scottish and Indian companies wishing to grow in a global marketplace. He has achieved this by opening an office in Delhi, India, aptly named ‘Scotland House’. In addition, his charitable endeavours over the years have helped to raise over £1 million for various charities at home and abroad. In his spare time, Charan is much in demand as an after dinner speaker at various national dinners, events and conferences across the UK. In 1998, Charan was awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours List for his outstanding contribution to the food and catering industry. Latest venture is to buy The Quay in Musselburgh. Presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at Irn Bru Curry Awards in March 2008. Hosted the launch of Care for a Curry? for Alzheimer Scotland.