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FTB : What are your plans for the future? RS: During Covid we had to completely shut down, but 2022 and 2023 have been our best years so far. We love our work but we also want to spend more time with the children. We have an office in London and Paris but we are opening one in Dubai as that is a much bigger sea to swim in. There’s so much going on there and my philosophy is that you have to keep moving forward. FTB : What advice do you have for first time buyers? RS: We made a big mistake when we bought The Square. We paid £395,000 and when we sold in 2016 we only got £580,000, which considering the time we lived there wasn’t a great profit, so look at the capital growth in the area you are buying in and ensure you will make money when you decide to move on. I think everyone should really research the area they are
“I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD REALLY RESEARCH THE AREA THEY ARE LOOKING TO BUY IN AND DO YOUR SUMS”
me to be a judge alongside two celebrities, who were Fred Sirieix and Sara Davies. We got on really well and I love working on TV and I’ve been told I am very charismatic. I have also been on The Apprentice – You’re Fired on BBC2 hosted by Tom Allen. The first challenge on the programme was to put on an event and I was asked to comment on it. It was very funny to see what they all planned. FTB : Tell us about your restaurant? RS: I opened a restaurant called GupShup in Hale, which in Hindi means chat or
was very clever and a real entrepreneur. She then became the first Indian wedding planner in the country and she was highly successful. In 2002 she branched into catering for Indian weddings and parties and arranged around 300 weddings a year – it was very hard work! The company was called Payal, which is the Indian word for an anklet which has bells on, which are very popular at Indian weddings. I worked with my mum and was responsible for all the logistics and she did sales. It was the perfect duo as she was very creative and had great attention to detail. FTB : You are now CEO of Silverfox Events, can you tell us about that? RS: I married my wife Sheetal in 1995 and she is brilliant – she does all the PR and marketing and is creative director. We run high-profile weddings for people of all faiths as well as bar mitzvahs, birthday parties and corporate events. We run and create every aspect of the occasion. We are well known for our ground-breaking design ideas, bespoke wedding creations and impeccably high standards of food, drinks and service. One occasion that stands out is an extravagant 50th birthday party at Palais Garnier in Paris. We brought a Mancunian twist to an iconic Marie Antoinette theme and everyone loved it. We also did a Great Gatsby-themed party, which was like building a film set. It took three weeks to build and was incredible. Nothing really fazes us and we did another party on a yacht off the coast of St Tropez and had to crane the infrastructure in. After my mum passed away in 2017 we sold the original company, Payal, to somebody we knew and now we just concentrate on Silverfox. FTB : Tell us about your television work? RS: In 2014 I was approached to do a documentary called My Big Fat Asian Wedding for Channel 4. They documented everything I did, organising four weddings, around the country, for nine months. It was great fun to do and I really enjoyed the experience. Then, during Covid, I was approached to be a judge on a show for BBC2 they were planning called The Ultimate Wedding Planner . They were looking for three luxury planners but they only liked me! After the pandemic was over they approached me again and said they were changing the format of the programme and that they wanted
gossip. It is one of the best known and most popular Indian restaurant in the
looking to buy in and do your sums. A home is very special and there is nothing quite like it but you also have to think further down the line and look at the capital growth in say 10 years’ time.
North West. We have recently changed the vibe and created a new menu. I have a great Italian general manager and we offer Pan-Indian food which is rather like tapas – lots of smaller dishes which are all very different and it’s worked very well.
silverfoxevents.com Instagram: @silverfoxevents and @rajsomaiyaofficial
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