Like the boy who grows up and buys the biggest train set in the world, Surinder Arora has made it. For Surinder, it was planes rather trains that stirred his passion, and his plush office overlooks the runway of Britain’s busiest airport. His company, the Arora Group, now owns a stunning collection of hotels at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports, as well as a portfolio of office and property, as part of its UK-focused group of private companies.
As you enter his office, your attention is immediately drawn to the procession of planes rising off the tarmac, soaring skywards on their journeys to all corners of the globe. If it wasn’t for his exhausting work ethic, there’s no doubt that Surinder would happily sit at his desk admiring the view. And if he tired of this, there’s always the option of nipping up to the roof top, with its added benefit of the accompanying soundtrack of ferocious engines driving these metallic monsters forward. Not bad for a young ruffian from India who was going off the rails.