B&M boss, Simon Arora, to step down from discount chain

theguardian.com:

Simon Arora, the billionaire co-owner and chief executive of B&M, the discount chain that cemented its place as one of Britain’s most successful retailers during the pandemic, is to retire.

The 52-year old, who runs the business with co-owner Bobby with involvement to a lesser extent from youngest sibling Robin, is to stand down early next year after 18 years running the chain.

Simon and brother Bobby, 50, acquired the business from Phildrew Investments in late 2004 when it was an ailing regional chain of 21 stores and built it into a retail empire of 1,100 shops in the UK and France. It is listed on the FTSE 100 with a market value of more than £5bn.

The retailer, which sells everything from food to toys, DIY supplies and gardening products, has more than 600 stores in the UK and a further 500 in France. The brothers are estimated to be worth £2.5bn.

“Having firmly established a strong, entrepreneurial culture and built a talented and experienced senior management team, Simon wishes to plan for retirement,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

In January, SSA Investments, the family office of the Arora brothers sold shares worth £234m, having sold a stake worth £214m a year earlier. The family still owns a 7% stake in the business, which listed on the Londonstock market in 2016.

Brother Bobby will remain as group trading director while Robin has a seat on the board.

Simon has previously described the family’s background as the “classic immigrant story”. His father emigrated to the UK from New Delhi in the 1960s with “£10 in his pocket” and went on to set up several businesses and “what money he made he spent on educating his kids”.

“He also loved talking to his sons about business and commerce, and he filled us with