Indian-origin businessman to acquire restaurant chain in UK

Indian-origin food tycoon, dubbed as “Chicken King” for his successful poultry business in the UK, will add Tesco’s Giraffe restaurant chain to his empire as the British retail chain retrenches to focus on UK supermarkets.

Indian-origin food tycoon, dubbed as “Chicken King” for his successful poultry business in the UK, will add Tesco’s Giraffe restaurant chain to his empire as the British retail chain retrenches to focus on UK supermarkets.

Giraffe has 54 standalone restaurants, including 12 franchise sites and three within Tesco stores. (AP File Photo ( For representational purpose))

Ranjit Boparan will add Giraffe, acquired by Tesco in 2013 for 49 million pounds, to Boparan Holdings alongside the The Cinnamon Club, an upmarket Indian restaurant in central, ‘The Times’ reported.

Giraffe has 54 standalone restaurants, including 12 franchise sites and three within Tesco stores.

“Giraffe is a much-loved brand and, while casual dining remains an important part of the shopping trip for many of our customers, we will continue to meet these needs through our Tesco Cafes and other providers,” said Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis.

The bulk of Boparan’s business is in supplying food to the big supermarket groups through 2 Sisters Food Group, a subsidiary of Boparan Holdings.

The 49-year-old tycoon stands at No 267 on ‘The Sunday Times Rich List’ with an estimated fortune of 430 million pounds and lives in Sutton Coldfield, a few miles away from Bilston, in the West Midlands region where he was born.

The self-made millionaire started work in a butcher’s shop at 16 before founding 2 Sisters, his food manufacturing company, with his wife in 1993 while still in his 20s.

Boparan also owns Harry Ramsden’s fish ‘n’ chip restaurants and Northern Foods - the company behind Goodfella’s pizzas and Fox’s biscuits.