British businessman
Amit Bhatia (born 4 September 1979) is a British-Indian businessman, entrepreneur, and investor. He is a founder and managing director of Aybe Capital Advisers (formerly known as Swordfish Investments) and is an owner and director of Queens Park Rangers. Bhatia is also the chairman of Breedon Group, the UK’s leading independent construction material suppliers, and a founding partner of Summix Capital, a real estate private equity firm.
Career
Bhatia’s professional journey began at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley in New York, before transitioning to Credit Suisse First Boston in London. In 2004, he set up Swordfish Investments, a private equity and venture capital firm with investments in across sectors including education, media, telecommunications, financial services, technology, consumer goods, and real estate. In 2023, the firm was rebranded as AyBe Capital Advisers.[1]
In 2010, Bhatia set up the Bhatia Family Foundation (originally known as The Global Relief Initiative).[2]
Bhatia's interests also extend to the building materials industry. In 2013, he set up Hope Construction Materials, [3] the UK’s largest independent cement and aggregates company, formed following the divestment of 200 sites by Tarmac Group and Lafarge. Under his leadership, Hope became the first UK construction firm to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Growth Companies (GGC) community.[4] In 2016, he sold Hope Construction to Breedon Aggregates
[5], joining the board of the newly formed Breedon Group PLC, where he now serves as Chairman and remains the largest shareholder.[6]
Bhatia is a founding partner of Summix Capital.[7]
Over the years, Bhatia has served on the advisory boards for major companies such as Metro Bank [8] and AirAsia Berhad [9]. He is on the advisory board of the Cultural Affairs and International Relations (CAIR) unit within the Ministry of Culture (MOC), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) [10].
Bhatia was awarded with the Young Entrepreneur of the Year title by Prime Minister Theresa May
[11], and the Outstanding Young Executive of the Year.[12]
Early life and education
Bhatia went on to study economics at Cornell University in the United States, where he was given the 2001 Class Award.[13] He maintains a relationship with Cornell, having been on the university’s External Advisory Council for Internationalization and a guest lecturer at the Johnson School of Management. He has endowed several scholarships for undergraduates’ students, and grants for PhD students at Cornell University[14] over the past twenty years. The Amit Bhatia Libe Café at Cornell’s Olin Library is named after him.[15]
Involvement in sports
The Bhatia family’s continued support resulted in the South Africa Road Stand at Loftus Road being renamed the Bhatia Stand.[16]
References
