Kishor Ruparelia, a well-known and much-respected private investor, has died aged 64 after contracting Covid-19.
Ruparelia built much of his fortune from buying and selling auction lots over almost 40 years. He passed away in March.
It was the expulsion of Asians from Uganda which brought him, his parents and six siblings to the UK in 1972. In an interview with EG in 2017 he described how they arrived with “very little of any worth” from their middle-class life in Africa.
The experience proved formative for Ruparelia. He began his working life as a car trader at 21 with brother Arun and father Bachubai, after leaving his job as a trainee accountant in 1975 “to do something for myself”.
His first property purchase at auction, funded by car sales, was a dilapidated office block and yard in Wembley in 1982. It cost £185,000 and produced a 10% yield. Six months later, he sold it to residential developer Fairview for £600,000.
By 2008 he had created an £80m commercial and residential portfolio; however, with a fair share of gearing at a time when the banks wanted to retreat, he was forced to let several properties go.
Undeterred, he started buying again, by teaming up with other investors he had met through auctions to buy in cash.
He was a regular at Allsop and Acuitus, as well as Lambert Smith Hampton before it stopped in-room sales. At Allsop’s first sale after the 2016 Brexit result, Ruparelia bought the first lot to celebrate his 60th birthday, helping to settle any post-referendum nerves in the room.
“I have to be at all the auctions. That is what I do,” he told EG. “I sit at the back and see who is bidding, how popular the lot is. I enjoy the buzz.”
Remembering Kishor Ruparelia
Kishor Ruparelia was a loving husband to Bhavna, with whom he had three daughters, Bindya, Priti and Pratiksha.
They told EG: “Our father was an inspiration to each of us girls, through the work we do, the risks we take and the importance we place on family. His confidence and likeability factor were always key to his successes, and many have shared with us now how he supported them and helped either with their first buy at auction or through providing property or general advice. He always drilled into us as children that the most important thing in business is your integrity and reputation, because business is about building those strong, honest relationships.
“Dad empowered us from a very young age to believe that anything was possible, you just needed to believe in yourself, taking a piece at a time until the issue was resolved. A question we will always continue to ask when negotiating and making decisions is ‘what would my father do?’
“We give him endless credit for instilling the ‘fighting’ spirit in us as we watched him work hard through the years, but always with a smile and a passion for succeeding. We will always miss him but carry on his legacy through continuing his work, our individual work, supporting his charity choices and keeping our family united.”
John Mehtab, investment director at Acuitus, commented: “I have known Kishor Ruparelia for decades, and we grew up together in the auction room. He was a larger-than-life character, very popular and loved by all. He was very skilful in identifying excellent property, and buying and selling with optimum timing. Kishor has left a very large hole in the auction room which cannot be filled. We will miss him dearly.”
Vijay Parikh, managing partner at Harold Benjamin, said: “Having met Kishor in 2000 at the outset of my legal career, it was a time when he established his strong presence in the commercial auction market. We worked closely together over several years, and Kishor was fun-loving, positive and always had time to help others.
“Many investors have contacted me in recent weeks to say how they first got into commercial auctions and property because of Kishor. He shared his knowledge generously and without hesitation. He will be missed dearly, and we will always remember his smiling face and positive character. He truly lit up the auction room.”
George Walker, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, added: “Kishor was a classic entrepreneur and an absolute pleasure to deal with. He was one of the first people I always wanted to see in the auction room. As an auctioneer on the podium, you need people like him. You could see in his eyes whether or not he was going to buy something.”
Oliver Childs, head of commercial auctions at BidX1 (previously with LSH) said Ruparelia would always greet him warmly as “Oliver, my friend”.
“Sharp-minded and quick to think on his feet – he could smell a deal and put one together almost as quickly! It was a privilege to work with him for over 20 years, a true gent who’ll be sorely missed,” Childs said.
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