Read the complete write-up of Touker Suleyman net worth, age, partner, children, height, family, parents, siblings, clothing as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Touker Suleyman is a British-Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor, and reality television personality. In 2001, his company Low Profile Group purchased UK shirt maker Hawes & Curtis, and in 2002 he purchased UK fashion label Ghost. Since then, he has invested in a number of start-up companies including Bikesoup and Huxley & Cox. Since 2015 he has been a dragon on Dragon’s Den.
Early life
| Name | Touker Suleyman |
| Net Worth | £300 million |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Height | 1.73m |
| Age | 68 years |
| Wife | N/A |
Touker Suleyman was on August 4, 1953 (age 68 years) in Famagusta, Cyprus. He is the son of a Turkish Cypriot family. In 1958, he moved to England with his family and settled in Bermondsey, South London. He arrived not speaking English and attended Peckham Manor secondary school.
Suleyman suffered a serious hand infection that resulted in him missing a year of school and being at risk of amputation of his left hand at age 10. Suleyman helped out working at his family’s restaurant in Camberwell. He credits his father for being his inspiration to start his own business.
Career
Touker Suleyman joined a chartered accountancy firm in Southampton Row, London, heeding to his father’s wishes that he enter a secure profession after graduating from school. He worked as an articled clerk earning £5.50 a week. Speaking of his experience there he states “I did the accounts for small clients like dentists and doctors, other accountants and small businesses. In a way, it was educational but quite boring. I saw that there were three ways to make money. You were either a pop star, in the fashion business, or in property.”
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While doing an audit for a clothing company, Suleyman took home some crimplene garments for his grandmother who later told him that her friends wanted the same. He purchased more which she then sold on his behalf for about a year. He describes this incident as his introduction to the fashion business. Suleyman went into a partnership with the manufacturer operating out of a factory in East London before going on to form Kingsland Models which supplied clothing to the likes of C&A, Dorothy Perkins, and Top Shop.
In the early 1980s, after being advised by a stockbroker, Suleyman took a 29.9% stake in the clothing business Mellins. He was later persuaded by Laing & Cruickshank that Mellins should buy a stake in retailer Bamber Stores “because it offered synergy—we make it and we sell it.” After Suleyman asked accountants Coopers & Lybrand to do a review, they discovered that the business had falsified their records and was £20–26 million in deficits.
A board meeting was held the following Monday where Suleyman resigned, the company’s shares were suspended, and receivers Cork Gully were called in. The collapse of Bamber Stores now forced Suleyman to find a way to raise money or see Mellin’s collapse too but he was unable to find investors. Suleyman was now stuck with debt and sold his house to repay the money he owed to the bank.
Touker Suleyman acquired a small cash-and-carry business which subsequently became Low Profile Group, a clothing manufacturer supplying UK retail stores including Marks & Spencer in 1984. The company’s factories are based in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Georgia.
Hawes & Curtis
In 2001, Low Profile Group acquired Hawes & Curtis for £1. The company was £500,000 in debt and was about to go into administration. Turnover at Hawes & Curtis rose from £600,000 in 2001 to £30m in 2014, whilst Suleyman retained the Chairmanship of Hawes & Curtis.
As of 2014, Hawes & Curtis operates from 30 branches in the UK and one in Cologne, Germany. In 2013, UAE investment group Korath Holding signed a $5m deal to open 26 Hawes & Curtis stores across the Gulf over a period of five years.
In 2008, Suleyman purchased UK fashion label Ghost after its owner, KCAJ, an Icelandic investment fund, cut investment following the collapse of the Icelandic banking market. The acquisition safeguarded 142 jobs across the company. In 2009 the label announced its first collaboration with design duo Modernist.
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Alongside Ghost, Touker Suleyman has invested in Tru-Tension, an innovative motorcycle, and cycling brand; Docks Rio, a casual boat shoe brand; Intelligent Futures, an online advertising start-up; Personify XP, an AI personalization start-up; Huxley & Cox, a manufacturer of luxury handbags; and Bikesoup, an online marketplace for bicycles in which he invested £100,000 for an undisclosed stake.
Touker Suleyman was chosen in 2015 to join the investors’ panel on the thirteenth series of BBC television program Dragons’ Den, alongside Nick Jenkins and Sarah Willingham. Suleyman is the only dragon out of the three to have remained on the show since.
Wife
Touker Suleyman is currently single and not married. His wife or partner is unknown to the general public. The millionaire lives in London and has two daughters from his previous relationship.
Touker Suleyman net worth
How much is Touker Suleyman worth? Touker Suleyman’s net worth is estimated at around £300 million. His main source of income is from his career as a businessman and investor. Suleyman’s successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars trips. He is one of the richest and most influential people in the United Kingdom.