The journey from being an educated in a profession to top class businessman in Britain may not at first seem apparent but for one highly successful British Pakistani the route has proved a fruitful and fulfilling one.
Athif Sarwar, a Scottish businessman and entrepreneur based in Glasgow has great ambitions for a young man. From a very early age Athif has been involved in business, developing a wide range of skills that have helped him build a very successful business portfolio.
He has always been an ambitious and highly driven individual, dedicated to his family and their business legacy. He was quick to identify his strengths and goals. From as early as his school days, Athif has always strived for success, never taking for granted the opportunities and experiences presented to him.
Athif is proud to be a British Pakistani with a sense both of his cultural background and his present situation equally combined as he was born in Glasgow and his family roots are in Pakistan. He cites his father Mohammad Sarwar (Governor Punjab, Pakistan) as his inspiration who is a man of high principles, sincerity of nature, and hard work. All are the means by which he believes that he could fulfil his dreams and ambitions.
Athif Sarwar was born in Glasgow on the 20th of August 1978. He grew up in the cities Pollokshields area. As the eldest son within a close family, Athif was instilled with a profound sense of responsibility and family values from an early age. He was always looking out for his brothers and sisters best interests.
Athif attended Pollokshields Primary School and then Braidbar Primary School in Giffnock. He then attended secondary school at Woodfarm High School in Thornliebank. For his final year at school, he moved to one of Scotland’s most prestigious independent schools, Hutchesons’ Grammar School.
Subsequently, Athif was admitted to Glasgow University to do his three year Social Sciences degree, where he studied social sciences, economics, management studies, philosophy, and information studies.
In 1998, Athif graduated from Glasgow University and started working at family’s successful cash and carry business, United Wholesale. His hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed and at the age of 21 Athif was made Managing Director of United Wholesale Scotland Ltd, becoming the youngest ever MD of the company.
This exciting new role was exactly what Athif had been working towards and was the perfect opportunity for him to put into practice all he had learned as well as his own ideas. When Athif took up the position of Managing Director the company was turning over £35 million in revenue annually. In his second year in the position, Athif and his team managed to double the figure and is continuing to increase revenue each year ever since, which is the result of a strong team, focused marketing, good customer relations and hard work.
In 2009, Athif passed the position to his younger brother Asim, who took over as Managing Director. This allowed Athif to focus on expanding the Sarwar family’s business portfolio and provided him with time to focus on personal projects.
Apart from his business interests and family life, Athif is involved with various community and charitable organisations, which are close to his heart.
