Background
Rumi Verjee was born in Uganda and spent his early childhood in Kenya before coming to Britain.
Rumi Verjee was born in Uganda and spent his early childhood in Kenya before coming to Britain.
He attended Downing College, Cambridge where he gained a Bachelor in Law, before being called to the Bar from Middle Temple.
Born in Uganda, Rumi moved to the United Kingdom as a child before studying at Downing College, Cambridge. Many of the Verjee family assets were seized under Idi Amin’s regime in 1972. Aged 27, Verjee approached Tom Monaghan at a conference in America, and persuaded him to sell the franchising rights to Dominos Pizza in the United Kingdom. Verjee launched the chain in Britain and it now employs over 20,000 people in the United Kingdom Verjee sold his stake in the firm in 1989, and went on to oversee the development of the Brompton Hospital site.
From 1993 until 1997, Verjee, alongside the singer Elton John, co-owned Watford F.C. In 1995, he bought Thomas Goode, which holds two royal warrants.
In 2015, it was announced that Verjee had become an adviser to MassChallenge, the world"s biggest startup accelerator programme. Verjee established a United Kingdom Charity, The Rumi Foundation, in 2006.
The Foundation supports humanitarian work through education, innovation and knowledge building. Its work is principally focussed in the United Kingdom but has also supported projects in India, East Africa and South America.
In keeping with its aims, the Foundation has supported a number of initiatives including:
Established a Chair in perpetuity at Downing College Cambridge, to research the early detection of cancer in children.
Endowed a five-year programme of Innovation Night Lectures at the Royal College of Artist Supported the launch, of Free the Children becoming Chair of the United Kingdom board of Directors in 2014. Alongside Holly Branson, Verjee co-chairs the United Kingdom initiative, We Day which encourages young people to take a greater role in their communities.
An ongoing partnership with the Clinton Foundation on their Building Tomorrow project in Uganda
Mosaic, a charity whose patron is Prince Charles and is dedicated to teaming up young people from deprived communities with high-flying mentors who can help them negotiate life’s challenges.
In 2009, Verjee was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his charitable work. In addition, the British Olympic Association appointed Verjee to its advisory board ahead of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
An active Liberal Democrat for several years, Verjee was appointed to the House of Lords in August 2013. In December 2012, a Labour Member of Parliament referred some of Verjee’s donations to the Electoral Commission for investigation.
They were subsequently all cleared as permissible donations.
On 17 September 2013 he was created a life peer taking the title Baron Verjee, of Portobello in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
His political activity includes support for the party’s Leadership programme to improve representation from under-represented groups. To support this work he donated £770,000 from the company he owns, Brompton Capital Limited, to the Liberal Democrats.