Frank Khalid sells Mitcham-based Elbrook Cash & Carry

Elbrook Cash & Carry has been sold by owner and director Frank Khalid for an undisclosed sum to Ajit and Sanmeet Chawla.

Frank Khalid, a well-known and respected figure in the wholesale industry, has sold Elbrook cash & carry in Mitcham.

In addition to disposing of the 35,000 sq ft cash & carry in Mitcham, south London, Khalid has sold his CHAK89 banqueting and restaurant business to the Chawlas, who are directors of several businesses including All Drinks Cash & Carry and Prince Cash & Carry, both in Southall, Middlesex.

The Chawlas, who have been family friends of Khalid for more than a decade, have agreed to keep on the existing staff.

Explaining his decision to sell Elbrook and CHAK89, Khalid said: “I will be moving to my new head office in Harold Wood, Essex. I will be concentrating on my West London Film Studios business and properties, as well as investing in upcoming companies and my late father’s overseas companies.”

It was in a 6,000 sq ft depot in Stratford, London, once owned by TRS, that Khalid cut his teeth in cash & carry, he explained in a previous interview with Cash & Carry Management.

“My father Mohammad knew the Suterwallas, who ran TRS, which was how we came to move in [in 1984],” said Khalid, who was 16 at that time. “Before that, I was helping in our Freshco retail shop in Leyton, where I did some shelf stacking and counting the money after school. That whetted my appetite, as did the fact that adjoining the shop (three units knocked into one) was a small area where we did some wholesaling.”

The Stratford site was never going to be big enough to enable Khalid to expand, so when the lease expired and an empty 25,000 sq ft freehold building became available in Barking, he grabbed the opportunity. “We stayed there from 1985 to 1996,” he recalled, “continuing to develop our product mainstays of confectionery and tobacco. But it was only a matter of months before we introduced a licensed range, and from then on we never looked back.”

In 1993, Elbrook opened its 25,000 sq ft cash & carry in Mitcham, and three years later, Khalid decided to rent out the Barking branch to concentrate on the Mitcham unit.

He later invested in a portfolio of properties and established CHAK89 banqueting suites that can accommodate up to 650 people and a restaurant that can seat 150. And then in 2006 he bought film studios in Hayes for £8 million. He initially intended to convert the premises into banqueting facilities but after an unsuccessful four-year battle for planning permission he returned the buildings to their original use. The Imitation Game and Bridget Jones’s Baby are just two of several box-office hits that have been filmed there.

Khalid’s business acumen has also been of benefit to the charity sector, and philanthropic activities have played a large part in his life for a number of years. His second child was diagnosed with autism, and subsequent responsibilities and priorities have shaped many of his decisions since.

Frank Khalid will now concentrate on his other business interests, including West London Film Studios in Hayes.

His charity work began in 2009 when he decided to mark Elbrook’s 25th anniversary with events culminating in a gala dinner, which was so successful that it became an annual event. With the help of his CHAK89 celebrity connections, he has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for good causes.

Khalid has also won numerous accolades for his personal and business contributions, including Star of Pakistan in the Pakistani Achievement Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award in the Asian Food & Restaurant Awards, and Outstanding Contribution to the Community in the British Community Honour Awards.

Commenting on his decision to sell Elbrook and CHAK89, he said: “I’m sad but excited at the same time.

“I will be giving time to my family and especially my little granddaughter.

“I made a promise to my dad before he passed away that I will be giving my 100% effort to firstly maintain and then make even better the businesses in Pakistan he made.

“I also want to concentrate on my religion, learn more and travel the world, carry on mine and my family’s charity work to help the people that need the help the most.

“I want to inspire people to better themselves and teach them to never give up or lose faith.

“I also wanted to thank all my friends and family who have supported me over the last few years.”