Asif Aziz

Asif Aziz is a London-based billionaire businessman and landlord. As the founder and chief executive of Criterion Capital, he is known for owning and operating buildings including the London Trocadero and Criterion Building in Piccadilly Circus. He has faced criticism for forcing the closure of cultural institutions and has been involved as a defendant in multiple High Court cases.

Early life

Born in Malawi in 1967, Aziz moved to London at the age of six. He acquired his first London property in the 1980s, whilst still at school. He graduated from the British American College London with a business baccalaureate.

Career

In an interview with City AM, Aziz said that, "When I was still in school, I was intrigued by the London property market. My first "real" job was at Morgan Grenfell Laurie where I learnt from the best in the commercial property industry. My first actual job was at McDonald's flipping burgers." Aziz added, "I fell in love with property when I was just 16 and made my first acquisition."

In 2005, the ''Evening Standard'' reported that he bought his first property aged 16 at an auction he visited with a relative, after saying he was 18. He bid £1.9m for the building opposite South Kensington tube station.

Aziz worked for property investment company Morgan Grenfell Laurie before moving back to Angola, Africa in 1993 where he made his fortune through establishing two food manufacturing businesses, including Golfrate Angola, which he sold in 2005.

According to Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, who addressed the UK Parliament in 2011, Aziz's fortune is thought to have been made in Angola. This venture, however, faced legal challenges when it was sold in 2005 to members of the Lebanese Tajideen family. The deal reportedly soured, and in 2010, the new owners filed a lawsuit against Aziz in the High Court, accusing him of exaggerating the value of the company and falsifying expense claims. During this time, an email surfaced where Aziz allegedly instructed his chief accountant: "Will they check each figure – can we not bullshit the numbers another way? Food for thought." This led to further scrutiny and public criticism of Aziz's business practices. That same year, he returned to the UK and established Criterion Capital, which acquired the London Trocadero leisure complex, the London Pavilion (1 Piccadilly Circus) and The Criterion Building (1 Jermyn Street). Today, Criterion Capital is the biggest landowner in the Leicester Square–Piccadilly Circus corridor.

As CEO of Criterion Capital, he owns and manages a £3.6bn property portfolio across London and the South East of England, including 15 commercial buildings in the West End of London, the Docklands and Croydon.

Through Criterion, the Trocadero entertainment complex was closed down in 2011 and re-opened in 2020 as the Zedwell Piccadilly - a hotel with 728 windowless rooms and a rooftop bar.

Aziz is reputed to be the UK's seventh richest Muslim. ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked Asif Aziz as number 12 out of 40 in its list of successful entrepreneurs. In 2022, Aziz was awarded an honorary fellowship from Goldsmiths University.

Controversies

Aziz has been criticised by ''Private Eye'' for using companies registered in the Isle of Man to buy properties in London, especially pubs, and then close them down to replace them with more lucrative housing developments.

In 2017, Aziz argued at the High Court that his wife of 14 years was not entitled to a share of his fortune, then estimated at £1.1bn, because they had "not legally married". The couple, who have four children, agreed a settlement.

In 2020, ''The Times'' asked if Aziz was "the meanest landlord in Britain", due to the way he had treated tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022 he was criticised by Novara Media for continuing to buy community spaces like bars and nurseries and redeveloping them into luxury apartments. This prompted a legal threat from Aziz's lawyers over a year later. Aziz's lawyers demanded the removal of the article, claiming defamation unless it was taken down.

In late 2024, Aziz's property company, Criterion Capital, became associated with the planned closure of the world's first YMCA, on London's Great Russell Street. The decision to close the historic facility, which had served as a vital community hub since 1844, sparked significant public outcry and a grassroots "Save YMCA Club" campaign. Campaigners criticised Criterion Capital for prioritising redevelopment over preserving the site's community purpose and urged collaboration to explore sustainable alternatives.

The company again came under discussion in early 2025 after the Prince Charles Cinema stated that their landlord, owned by Criterion Capital, were demanding both a significant raise in rent and a 6-month break clause in the new lease. The cinema collected over 160,000 signatures on a petition to "Save The Prince Charles Cinema", and was subsequently designated an asset of community value by Westminster City Council.

In 2025, reports emerged highlighting widespread maintenance issues and vermin infestations in properties managed under Aziz's "Dstrkt" housing brand, despite rapidly rising rents. Aziz also reportedly paid £150,000 to settle allegations that he had illegally operated an unlicensed Forrest Gump-themed shrimp restaurant at Piccadilly Circus. The same site subsequently drew further scrutiny when it reopened as a reportedly tax-avoiding, unofficial Harry Potter-themed shop.

In July 2025, several gift shops in Piccadilly Circus, occupying units let by Criterion Capital, were the subject of an article by journalist Jim Waterson for ''London Centric''. The article suggested that the shops, operated by overseas students, had irregular practices surrounding VAT and business rates, and frequently changed their registered owners, who would then disappear without paying taxes.

Philanthropy

In 2015, Aziz established the charitable incorporated organisation Aziz Foundation, which offers postgraduate scholarships, internships and grants to British Muslims. The Foundation also sponsors London's Ramadan Lights.

Aziz was awarded the Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad Leadership Award at the 2022 Islam Channel Business Awards.

Criterion Capital has donated to both Labour and the Conservatives, and the Aziz Foundation has donated to several MPs to fund Aziz Foundation internships in their offices.

References

External links

Personal website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aziz, Asif
Living people
1967 births
English people of Indian descent
Malawian chief executives
Malawian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Businesspeople from London