Reuben Singh

Reuben Singh, (born 20 September 1976, Manchester, England), is a British entrepreneur, who became famous for his "Miss Attitude" and "alldaypa" companies, but more recently for controversy surrounding his wealth and dealings. In October 2007 he filed for bankruptcy. He calls himself Dr. Reuben Singh although it is not known in which field he has a doctorate.

Early years

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

His first business, "Miss Attitude", was a shop which sold girl's accessories (such as hair clips, cosmetics, etc) which opened in 1995 in the Manchester Arndale Centre.

Almost overnight, dozens of stores opened up across the UK, and within a short space of time there were hundreds. He started to appear in the press with stories of this success. Early reports cited his wealth at around £10 million, all this while he was studying for his A-Levels at William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester.

In 1999, Miss Attitude was sold for a reported sum of £22 million pounds, bringing his wealth to around £45 million. [http://www.educationtimes.com/reuben.htm] The buyer later claimed that the actual sum was just £1 (see "Financial Troubles").

Dotcom era

In 1999, he launched the website and brand "alldaypa.com", a 24-hour virtual PA / secretary service. Described as "A FREE fully-functioning, global 24-hour virtual office ", incoming calls are routed to the alldaypa call centre giving the impression that they are part of the customer's business. Other features include online hosting and administration facilities. Soon after this company was launched, Singh's spokeswoman was claiming the company was worth £100m, although this would later be discredited due to the fact the company was in fact in massive debt. [ [http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=322775&in_page_id=2 Fallen Singh is still calling the tune] ] [ [http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=63824 Record-breaking millionaire launches revolutionary dotcom service at alldayPA.com] ]

Celebrity status

He regularly appeared in printed media and on television, and was hailed by many as the British Bill Gates. He enjoyed the comparison, and stated in interviews that he aimed to beat Bill Gate's record by becoming the world's youngest self-made billionaire by the time he is 30 (although this was not achieved by September 2006 when he turned 30).

He was often pictured alongside a Bentley Continental, supposedly the only banana-yellow model in the world and costing a reported £270,000. This, and other luxury vehicles he drove, certainly seemed to support the claims of immense wealth.

His entry in the 1998 Guinness Book of Records as the world's youngest self-made millionaire with a fortune of £27.5m (the entry was subsequently disqualified) helped, as did featuring in various rich lists such as The Sunday Times, [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/richlist/person/0,,6959,00.html Sunday Times - Rich List] ] and Fortune.

He made many television appearances for programmes such as BBC Hardtalk [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/11_november/20/hardtalk_singhreuben.shtml BBC - Press Office - HARDtalk Reuben Singh] ] and the Esther Rantzen show, and offered his services as a motivational guest speaker to give talks on how to be a success.

He was invited by Prime Minister Tony Blair onto a DTI advisory panel on small business and competitiveness. Alongside Sir Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson he was appointed one of the five UK ambassadors for entrepreneurship.

His portrait was included in the UK National Portrait Gallery, which houses portraits of historically important and famous British people.

He also won many awards for his business and entrepreneurship, such as the National Business Awards 2002, [http://www.newscast.co.uk/media/mediapreview_big.jsp?js=false&id=51976 Winner of National Business Awards 2002] Microsoft New Business of the Year 2002, The Times 500 "Most Powerful under 30-year old in Britain", Times 500 Most Powerful Individuals as "Most Powerful under 30-year old in Britain". [http://www.cityspeakersinternational.co.uk/speakers/speaker_reuben_singh.php Reuben Singh's City Speakers page]

Financial troubles

In 2002, an article in the "Manchester Evening News" - followed a few days later by an article in the "Financial Mail" - contained damning information regarding his business ventures. [ [http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=342294&in_page_id=2 The truth about Britain's 'youngest self-made millionaire'] ] The articles 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.

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. [http://www.sathnam.com/Features/71/reuben-singh Sathnam Sanghera interviews Reuben Singh]

Since then, he has 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. [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/26/26643_truth_behind_schoolboy_tycoon.html Truth behind schoolboy tycoon - News - Manchester Evening News] ] [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/business/general/s/26/26639_tycoon_image_of_a_man_with_attitude.html M.E.N. Tycoon Image of Man With Attitude] 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. [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/business/general/s/26/26652_singh_used_press_to_his_advantage.html M.E.N. - Singh Used Press to his Advantage]

MP Graham Stringer called for tighter regulations after Singh was able to gain a position on a Government advisory panel without any prior checks. [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/49/49067_plea_after_men_probe_into_firms_sale.html Manchester Evening News - Plea After Probe Into Firms Sale] ]

alldaypa.com was largely a failure and suffered huge financial losses. The company was bailed out by his parents who bought the company and called in administrators to try and turn the company around. They reduced his role from director to consultant. [ [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/business/general/s/83/83907_parents_pull_plug_on_sons_business.html Manchester Evening News - Parents Pull Plus On Sons Business] ]

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. Mr Singh was the only director and sole shareholder. [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3112814.ece Cosmetic success: The fallen business star - Home News, UK - Independent.co.uk] ]

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, Companies House listed only two companies with any net assets of £1000 and £100. The other five companies that Singh was listed as director had never filed any accounts.

Further problems arose in relation to a multimillion pound overdraft. He was recently sued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, with judge Michael Kershaw QC ordering Singh to pay the bank £1,229,966 for an overdraft they claimed was secured under false pretenses, 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." [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/175/175214_you_are_a_liar_reuben.html 'You Are A Liar, Reuben' Manchester Evening News 23 September 2005]

Bankruptcy

In October 2007, Singh was forced to file for bankruptcy, as a result of the dispute with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The filing revealed debts of £11.8m, including £9m to a Kuwaiti trading company, around £140,000 on nine credit cards, a £32,500 Inland Revenue penalty payment, a £32,500 HM Customs & Excise bill, and £778,813 to his father, Sarabjit Singh. He had also fallen £12,000 behind in payments for one of his cars.

As a result of being bankrupt, his assets have been frozen and he cannot obtain credit or be director of a limited company. [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1021987_bogus_millionaire_bankrupt Bogus millionaire bankrupt - News - Manchester Evening News ] ]

Quotations

* "No one backed me or invested in me when I was starting out... If Reuben Singh at 17 had found the Reuben Singh of today, imagine how that could have helped me." [http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?artid=22757024&sType=1 Reuben Hood - Economic Times India]

References

External links

* http://www.bsingh.dsl.pipex.com/khalsa/reuben.htm
* http://www.4-small-businesses.co.uk/top-small-businesses-idea-003.html
* http://www.newscast.co.uk/media/mediapreview_big.jsp?js=false&id=16865
* http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp19036
* http://www.alldaypa.com
* http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020902/world.htm#5

Persondata
NAME= Singh, Reuben
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=British entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH=1976-09-20
PLACE OF BIRTH=Manchester, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=