Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia (born October 1958) is a

British-Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...

businessman and entrepreneur based in London. He is the founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Dominvs Group, a real estate, hospitality and asset management company. Ahluwalia also is founder and former

Executive Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of car parts distributor

Euro Car Parts Euro Car Parts is a distributor of car parts and accessories, with around 200 locations in Europe. History The company was founded by Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, when he opened a motor parts shop in Willesden, London in 1978. The business was ori ...

Early life

Born in Kampala, Uganda into an Indian Sikh family, Ahluwalia’s parents emigrated to the UK in 1972, when Ahluwalia was 13 years old, to escape persecution under Idi Amin. When they arrived in the UK, the family spent a year in temporary shared accommodation. As a teenager, Ahluwalia spent time in the markets of Petticoat Lane and Liverpool Street.

Career

Euro Car Parts

Ahluwalia founded Euro Car Parts in 1978 after borrowing £5,000 from his father and bank loan to buy a car parts shop in Willesden, London. The shop, originally called Highway Autos, was renamed Euro Car Parts a year later. In 1981, Ahluwalia opened a second branch of the company in the Willesden area. The company originally supplied car parts for BMW,

Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

and VW vehicles. The company expanded to become a leading supplier of parts, paints and equipment for cars and light commercial vehicles in the UK. By 2011, Euro Car Parts employed 3,500 people across 89 locations. In October 2011, Ahluwalia sold Euro Car Parts to

LKQ Corporation LKQ Corporation (''Like Kind and Quality'') is an American provider of alternative and speciality parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. LKQ has operations in North America, Europe and Taiwan. LKQ sells replacement system ...

for £280 million, with a supplementary £55 million if targets were met. After the sale, Ahluwalia became Executive Chairman of LKQ Corporation's businesses in the UK, Ireland and India, but stepped down from the board in December 2018.

Personal life

He is married to Rani Ahluwalia and they have three sons who are also involved in the businesses. As of May 2018, Ahluwalia is the fourth richest refugee in the UK. According to The ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

'' 2019, the Ahluwalia family have a net worth of £500 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahluwalia, Sukhpal Singh 1958 births Living people British people of Punjabi descent British businesspeople of Indian descent Entrepreneurship in India Corporate executives in the automobile industry Ugandan refugees