Brothers Kishor and Pradeep (Pat) Patel were born and grew up in Kenya. Retailing was in their blood right from the start. Their parents, Magan and Kantaben Patel, owned a store in the village of Nambare selling everything from food and drink to household and clothing.
Growing up, the two brothers studied in Kisumu, some 60 miles away from the family business, while helping out in the store at every available opportunity.
Kishor and Pat have never shied from hard work and the hard work ethic is in their genes. At the ages of just 6 and 8 they would help to create the garments that their father sold in the shop, putting buttons onto shirts and trousers while their mother did the sewing.
Magan and Kantaben Patel
Having grown up in Kenya, Magan and Kantaben Patel left the country in 1969 and moved with their two young boys, Kishor and Pradeep (Pat), to India to look for business opportunities. Five years later they moved to the UK and have lived here ever since.
Pradeep (Pat) Patel
Pradeep (Pat), the elder of the two brothers, is operations director at Houghton Trading Ltd, responsible for the company’s IT and logistics side of the business.
Kishor Patel
Kishor is the managing director of Houghton Trading Ltd. An entrepreneur, with a degree in finance, a passion to develop businesses, experience in retailing and a key skill in developing people, Kishor opted to start his own business rather than pursue a career in accountancy.
Anita Patel
Anita is Houghton Trading Ltd’s office manager. She oversees everything from staff uniforms, accounts, payroll to finances. Before joining the company in 2003 she spent her early years working for Coventry Council and after marrying Kishor in 1987 spent 18 years at Dixons, gaining invaluable experience of how businesses in both the public and private sectors operate and joined the family business in 2005.
Kishan Patel
Kishan born in 1994, studied at Moorlands primary school in Luton, moving to Bedford Modern for secondary education, followed by graduating with a first class hons degree in Financial Economics at Leicester University. Supports Chelsea FC and follows most sports, loves music and movies.