Seva (the concept of selfless service) and undeniable humility are two words that best describe property tycoon, entrepreneur, serial investor and philanthropist, Professor Peter Virdee, our esteemed guest for July 2024. Peter captivated club members with his inspiring rags to riches story of how the boy from Birmingham went on to achieve unparalleled success in business. Despite his dapper appearance, the man behind the Italian suit is humble, crediting his success to God and the people around him.

Peter shared candidly about his business journey and personal life, his words were authentic and stories vulnerable. He leads by example, fully embodying the ethos of Sikhism, a remarkable example of how personal success can be used for the greater good of others. Despite his celebrity rolodex, when asked to “name four people” he would have at his dream dinner party, his response was “I would have my late mother, four times over” – what more can we say about the DNA of one of the UK’s most successful businessmen.

 

 

Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

London based LAS Group, have acquired Goldwyns. The acquisition of the historic firm was completed on 1st June and will super-size its offer in representing large international corporates as well as strong UK businesses, high and ultra-high net worth, well known families from around the world, including celebrities and sports personalities.

 

In honour of maintaining the rich history of pre-WW2 Goldwyns, the firm will now be known as the Goldwyns Group.

 

Partner at Goldwyns Group, and Foundxrs Club member, Sumit Selli, specialises in business advisory and wealth preservation. Sumit directly manages Goldwyns’ key relationships with clients and other stakeholders. He will be at the helm of the business, along with Martin Myers, another senior partner at Goldwyns

 

 

“My team and I have spent the last 10 years growing LAS from its infancy, said Sumit. “Our growth has been thanks to our loyal team and clients…many of whom have been with us for many years and celebrate our successes with us.”

 

On the acquisition, Sumit feels that the union of LAS Group with Goldwyns presents great opportunity for both firms and their clients. “This amalgamation allows us to leverage decades of experience, draw on combined strengths, and foster innovation.  As a result, we are better positioned to enhance the quality, value, and breadth of our services.”

 

Keeping the Goldwyns name feels like ‘the way forward’ for Sumit, blending modernity and history. “Goldwyns has been established since the 1930s so keeping the name enables us to

ensure that the legacy and history of Goldwyns lives on, while continuing to build on the joint successes. LAS as a brand will still exist but in a different capacity. Going forward our professional services businesses are all a part of the Goldwyns Group.”

 

The firm’s advisory, audit, tax and accounting business has now expanded with the acquisition, and the wealth management business will be enhanced with Goldwyns financial services also coming into the fold and being relaunched in 2025 to focus on debt advisory as well as traditional wealth management services. The firm is already making good progress with their continued investment into using artificial intelligence (AI) and plan to increase their time and investment in this space.

 

“Although this is an acquisition my message to both teams and clients is to see it as a merger…we are now one firm blending modern innovative ways of working and delivery with traditional values,” he said.

 

“We’re now in a position where the acquisition has allowed us to double in size overnight, giving us the opportunity to turbo-charge our growth. We’ve got scale and good opportunity, and this growth gives us access to even more market share.

 

“LAS group was only formed 10 years ago and acquiring a firm like Goldwyns gives us legacy. With that comes the partners and team with the knowledge, background, and expertise that they have on their side.

 

New team members at Goldwyns include senior partners and team from firms such as Blick Rothenberg, TC Group and HW Fisher, all much larger mid-tier firms in the City.

 

While the Goldwyns offices on Baker Street will be closed, the firm will bring all operations into The Royal Exchange which remain the Head Office in the City. In addition, Goldwyns Group have opened new offices in 110 Bishopsgate (formerly known as Heron Tower) which will provide a central hub for the growing team.

 

“We are a people business, and within the firm my main focus has been team culture,” said Sumit. “Our largest investment in the firm has been in the team and the culture that the team cultivates. This is apparent to our clients as most of our team are the faces of the business. Our clients are people and businesses who I believe resonate with our team culture and our firm’s values.”

 

Martin Myers, senior partner, Goldwyns, said: “I’m very confident in Sumit and his team’s ability to take Goldwyns into the future with us.”

 

www.goldwynsgroup.co.uk

Undisputably one of the finest watch brands in the world, PATEK PHILIPPE. So an absolute pleasure to be joined by Head of Marketing for the brand, Nick Wilson and the Chairman and CEO of one of their core retail partners in the UK, John Robinson.

Joined by the two wonderful gentlemen was club co-founder and host of the Q&A session Kalpesh Patel. As part of our ‘Audience with’ series, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Nick and John to have an open conversation about the brand itself, the industry, the future and everything else which surrounds luxury watches in today’s market.

 

 

Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

“The competition is high and it’s not hard to find a 5-star luxury hotel in London, so what is it that makes The Rosewood so special?” Just one of the questions we asked Michael Bonsor, Managing Director of Chancery Rosewood which opens its doors in 2025.

Currently, and over the last 10 years Michael has played a pivotal role in opening and positioning the Rosewood London as MD and captain of the ship at one of London’s most revered and luxurious hotels in the city.

With a room full of Foundxrs, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael at his hotel for an exclusive Q&A session to really get under the skin and understand what it takes to run and operate a luxury hotel of this calibre in London along with exploring some of the challenging parts of his journey and how he manoeuvred through them, all the way to really understanding the minds and behaviours of guests staying at the hotel.

 

 

Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

Continuing our salute and celebration of women in business, we teamed up with Selfridges and their personal shopping team to host 24 of our female Foundxrs for a champagne reception in their exclusive VIP personal shopping suite, followed by a 3-course lunch at Brasserie of Light with tables hosted by our very own Ruchi, Aarti Parmar, Amruti Choudhry and Katherine Pace.

 

DID YOU KNOW: In March 1910, Selfridges stood in solidarity with the suffragettes, pledging support to their movement by refusing to press charges following store window breakages on Oxford St. Selfridges later created in-store restaurants where women could dine unchaperoned.

 

 

Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

To launch our ‘HERstory’ campaign 2024, we teamed up with Michelin Star chef, Atul Kochhar to open the celebration with a special exclusive curated breakfast at his Mayfair restaurant, Kanishka. With 40 of our female Foundxrs in attendance over breakfast, we had the pleasure of being joined by guest speaker, serial entrepreneur and investor Rupa G. Popat who was interviewed by Club member Nishi Shah, Foundxr of Happy Little Humans.

The campaign ‘HERstory’ was launched this month (MAR 24) in celebration of women in business. A campaign curated to highlight, engage, showcase and celebrate the entrepreneurial journey for our female Foundxrs. Partnering with brands and people who share the same thread of unity, sharing stories with one another to build a bond and collectively become stronger as one. Women supporting women. Foundxrs supporting Foundxrs.

 

 

Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

London’s skyline on 1st Feb 2024 was a mixture of candy pinks and burnt orange as the sun set over the not so usual clear skies of our great city. Some may even say a perfect evening to enjoy the views from 14 floors up, so that’s exactly what we did.

We teamed up with our friends, developers REGAL London to host an evening of club members and people in property in the recently finished penthouse of their newest development THE HAYDON.

Located minutes from Aldgate station, this new development is modern city living at it’s best. Comprising of 87 luxury apartments, 24hr concierge, residents lobby, cinema room, gym and yoga studio, spa pool and the list on.

With a carefully curated guestlist of 26 club members, the room was filled with professionals in the world of property invited to share in the celebration and view the completion of the newest penthouse. What event is ever complete without music, food and drinks? If it’s music, why not bring a wonderful singer and his guitarist to perform an acoustic set of jazz and Motown classics (thank you Idriess and Sheldon). If it’s food, why not bring a beautiful grazing spread filled with savoury and sweet treats (thanks Kiran and Raj of The Grazing Girls). If it’s drinks you need, why not bring in a talented mixologist and bar team with a carefully curated cocktail list (thank you Ash, Cherag and Keeley of Sincere Bars).

 

 

A big thank you to Jacob and Emma from Regal London for allowing us to team up with you to host this wonderful evening.

Emma and Meghan from SEC Newgate, thank you for helping us pull everything together.

Our friends who made the evening a wonderful success, singer Idriess, guitarist Sheldon, the food team Kiran and Raj, the bar team Ash, Cherag and Keeley and our official photographer Glenn.

Lastly, our wonderful Club members, thank you for joining us and bringing your best energy as always.

 

If you’d like to see or find out more about Regal London’s new development, please click here - The HAYDON

 

Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

At Foundxrs Club HQ, we’ve created a tradition of slowing down, stepping back and reflecting on our standout moments and wins of the year. This allows us to take stock of how much we’ve achieved and importantly takes us back to our WHY and what this journey is all about. Business and life are full of ups and down, but it’s important for us as individuals to learn from the loses and celebrate the wins.

 

As we look back at the last 12 months, here are some of our standout moments of 2023 . . .

 

 

1. In celebration of ‘International Women’s Day’ award winning journalist and TV personality Andrea McLean launches our ‘Audience with’ series for 2023.

See event review with Andrea

 

 

2. Along with our friends at Rolls-Royce, we launched CLUB X, a tier of the club designed for members operating larger businesses.

See launch of CLUB X with Rolls-Royce

 

 

3. Inspirational, visionary and iconic. Sonu Shivdasani OBE, Foundxr of Soneva and Six Senses took time out his 24 hours in London to join Club members for an intimate Q&A.

See event review with Sonu

 

 

4. 35 Club members collectively raised an astronomical £200k for Caudwell Youth; a charity spearheaded by John Caudwell, shaping young people’s futures.

See evening with Caudwell Youth

 

 

5. From partnering with the Chicago Bulls to setting sights of a $1bn valuation by 2029. Moses Rashid, Foundxr of the EDIT LDN shared his remarkable business journey with Club members.

See event review with Moses

 

 

6. Supporting over 50 members to upgrade their press images and profile shots through our signature shoot days.

 

 

7. Collaborating with artist Mr Controversial as he launched his new collection with his first independent solo show.

See event review with Mr Controversial

 

 

8. Phones 4U Foundxr, self-made billionaire and philanthropist spent an exclusive evening with the Club as part of our ‘Audience with’ series.

See event review with John

 

 

9. We’re super proud to have inspired more female Foundxrs to join our community, increasing our member ratio from a 70:30 split to a 60:40 split.

See review from one of our female led events

 

 

10. Michelin starred Chef Atul Kochhar, opens the doors of his restaurant Kanishka to host an exclusive breakfast event for our Day 1 members, who joined in 2020 and still remain with us.

See event review with Atul

 

 

11. Assisting in the growth of our members both professionally and personally through our masterclasses and business workshops.

See review of one of the workshops

 

 

12. Ending the year with a sparkle, bringing 100+ members together under the roof of the iconic Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane to celebrate the year.

See End of Year Drinks review

 

 

13. One of the most important, valued and standout moments for us in Club has been the relationships the community has been able to facilitate. Meeting people who you may not have met before. Doing business with people you now call friends. Creating lasting bonds with people who simply make your soul smile. Learning from and spending time with people who help you grow. This has been the most valued part of what we have created, and we look forward to establishing more relationships in 2024.

In collaboration with MOON, a wellness platform for women, co-founded by our very own founding member Lucie Marchelot Shukla, we hosted a unique wellness experience for our female Foundxrs.

 

The relentless pace of today’s world often relegates personal well-being to the backseat. The experience gave members the opportunity to check out of their businesses, slow down and check into themselves.

 

On the day, members were taken on a journey of tantric yoga, sound healing, the benefits of ayurvedic eating and a sacred ceremony to release negative emotions and set intentions for the forthcoming year. The experience was immersive and recharging, giving members the opportunity to recalibrate and carve out some much needed ‘me time’.

 

To say the day was a huge success is an understatement, this is what some of the attending members had to say:

“This is one of the best Foundxrs events we’ve ever had, I’ve been to a few which were phenomenal, but this was my favourite.” – Amruti Choudhry

“It was nice to drop our phone, our shoes….. and be connected to one another.” – Geraldine Spurway

“Best ideas come when you relax.” – Ceylan Boyce

“When you switch off, you switch on, thank you for creating the space for us.” – Aarti Parmar

“It was educational, that was really important….” – Dil Judge

 

 

Credit: Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club

Over 100 members attended our festive end of year drinks, hosted in collaboration with London’s iconic Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane. The room was buzzing with energy and festive cheer as members soaked up one another’s company and celebrated another fantastic year of being part of the Foundxrs community. New members joined seasoned ones; laughter, magic and festive sparkle were all present in abundance as members indulged in a cocktail / mocktail or two. A great way to mark the end of 2023.

Thank you to all our attending members who made it such a memorable evening, you are at the heart and centre of the magic we have created.

 

 

Credit: Photographs by Glenn Foster for Foundxrs Club