Shelim Hussain: Euro Foods

Shelim Hussain
Age: 30
Company: Euro Foods

Shelim Hussain has been quietly making a name for himself as one of the most talented entrepreneurs in the UK ever since he sold his first box of frozen prawns in January 1993 and started up Newport-based Euro Foods. 10 years on the company turns over £37m, has offices in the US and UK, employing 300 people. Not bad for his first job after his A-levels.

2016 update: 

Hussain – who was awarded an MBE in the 2003 New Year Honours – remains as chairman and managing director of Euro Foods, which now employs more than 1,500 staff worldwide and turns over around £105m. Last year he launched Kukd.com, a takeaway ordering website that only charges restaurants £50 a week instead of rivals like Just Eat which takes 20% off orders. It had 3,000 restaurants signed up prior to launch and aimed to have 10,000 within a year. In 2015, Hussain was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 for London and South.