Reuben Singh

Singh studied English, Business Studies, Politics and General Studies A-levels after doing his GCSEs.[8]

In 2004, he received an honorary doctorate from Guru Nanak Dev University for his contribution to entrepreneurship.[9]

Reuben Singh was born into a wealthy family who ran a large importing business, Sabco, and had business interests in Canada. They came to England in the 1970s and had a family home in Poynton, a village in Cheshire.

His first business, Miss Attitude, was a retail chain which sold girls' accessories and opened in 1995 in the Manchester Arndale Centre. Within a few years, there were more than 100 Miss Attitude shops across the UK. He sold the business in 1999 for an undisclosed price while at university. Reports in the British press initially suggested a sum that ranged wildly between £1 and £22m.[10][11] Due to the deal being subject to a confidentiality agreement, the actual sum remains unknown.[12][13]

His charitable work has included supporting the Prince's Trust working with young entrepreneurs and supporting interfaith partnerships in the UK.[27][28][29][30]

In 2015, he launched the Reuben Singh Scholarship to support young people in higher education to work on their business ideas while studying.[31] It was made open to any UK undergraduate who showed business endeavors or entrepreneurial spirit.[32][33][34]

On 26 January 2003 The World Economic Forum honoured him as one of the "Global Leaders of Tomorrow" (GLT) in Davos.[35][36] On 13 October 2003 his portrait was included in the UK National Portrait Gallery in a photograph taken by Trevor Ray Hart in December 1999.[37] In 2003 the MIT Boston Technology Review Magazine voted him one of the World's top Innovators in their prestigious review.[38] In May 2005 he was invited to Dubai by His Royal Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum the Dubai Crown Prince to address an audience of over 1000 business leaders and entrepreneurs.[39]

He was entered into the 1998 Guinness Book of Records as the world's youngest self-made millionaire and also featured at joint 7th in the 2002 Sunday Times 'Rich List'.[40]

In 2002, an article in the Manchester Evening News – followed a few days later by an article in the Financial Mail – called him little more than a fantasist and that his wealth and business success was considerably less than he claimed. It also revealed that the buyer of Miss Attitude, American financier Gary Klesch, claimed to have bought the debt-laden business for £1.[12] However, independent articles noted that it may have been a "deliberate character-assassination attempt."

Singh himself told Sathnam Sanghera of the Financial Times that, "these stories are just rumours based on jealousy and are a total misrepresentation", adding that a confidentiality clause prohibited him from discussing the matter.[41]

He then, suffered somewhat of a backlash from the media. The Manchester Evening News, which had previously printed positive stories about Singh, began to run negative pieces and sought to expose any discrepancies in his affairs.[42][43] The paper alleged that he had used the press to his advantage, using inaccurate reports about his business prowess to further inflate his reputation as a successful entrepreneur.[43]

MP Graham Stringer called for tighter regulations after Singh was able to gain a position on a Government advisory panel without any prior checks.[44]

Another company set up by Singh, a health food company called Robson & Steinberg, folded after less than a year of trading, with debts of £250,000.[45]

Questions were raised about what Singh called the 'Reuben Singh Group of Companies.' According to Singh, these were 12 trading entities dealing in currency trading, property, retail and construction. However a search in the Britain, Companies House listed only two British companies with any net assets of £1000 and £100. The other five British companies that Singh was listed as the director had never filed any accounts but the concern was raised on a £2.64m payment that Singh paid overseas from one of the companies.[46]

Further problems arose in relation to a multimillion-pound overdraft which Singh had guaranteed. In 2004 he was sued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, with judge Michael Kershaw QC ordering Singh to pay the bank £1,229,966 for an overdraft and their legal costs. The judge commented, "(The banker) was, I think, to some extent a victim of Mr Singh's personality as well as Mr Singh's lies."[47]