Born in a refugee camp in Patiala after Partition, Lord Rami Ranger moved to Britain in 1971, built a £200 million export empire across 130 countries, became the only company in British history to win five consecutive Queen's Awards for Enterprise, was elevated to the House of Lords in 2019, and donated over £1.2 million to universities and charitable causes.
A Martyred Father, a Refugee Train, and a Mother Who Gave Him Everything That Mattered
- Rami Ranger's story begins with profound loss and extraordinary courage. His father, Shaheed Nanak Singh, was a visionary man who fiercely opposed the partition of India based on religion. He said: "India's diversity was like the colours of a rainbow. Its charm and beauty would diminish if one were removed." Shaheed Nanak Singh was assassinated during the communal riots of Partition while saving 600 students of DAV School in Multan caught up in the violence. The students' lives were saved at the cost of his own. He was martyred for Hindu-Muslim unity and religious tolerance. His son Rami had not yet been born.
- Rami came into the world two months after his father's martyrdom. The family lost their ancestral home and everything with it. When the time came to flee, the overcrowded refugee train made boarding seem impossible. But his mother, Harbans Kaur, a woman of remarkable strength and dignity, approached the engine driver directly, introducing herself as the wife of Shaheed Nanak Singh, a prominent Sikh leader. The family was allowed to board. That single act of courageous self-advocacy, claiming their identity and their right to survival in the most desperate of circumstances, became the founding metaphor for everything Rami would build.
- The family settled in a refugee camp in Patiala, Harbans Kaur raising eight children alone as a teacher, with limited money but unlimited values. She could not give him financial support but she gave him the bedrock of everything: self-respect, work ethic, commitment, and empathy for others.
- Rami moved to the United Kingdom in 1971. In 1987, he started freight forwarding from a shed, using his old estate car to collect goods from shops. “I worked hard, provided excellent service at competitive prices, and my business grew through word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers," he says. He founded Sea, Air and Land Forwarding Ltd from that shed. And in 1995, he founded Sun Mark Ltd, the company that would write his name into British business history.
Eliminating Eight to Ten Profit Centres and Building a £200 Million Empire in 130 Countries
- The founding insight behind Sun Mark was both simple and transformative. As customers faced difficulties sourcing products, Rami began assisting them by sourcing items directly. This eliminated eight to ten profit centres in the supply chain and gave customers direct access to goods at genuinely competitive prices. He also recognised that while people aspired to own quality brands, not everyone could afford them, identifying the accessible premium segment before the global FMCG industry had a name for it.
The philosophy was clear: "We only succeed when our customers succeed."
- From a shed in the 1980s, Sun Mark grew into a £200 million enterprise operating in 130 countries, sustaining thousands of British jobs through export activities. The company was featured in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100, one of Britain's most respected business performance rankings. In 1999, Her Majesty the Queen honoured Sun Mark with the Queen's Award for Export Achievement.
- And then came the achievement that has never been replicated in British business history. Sun Mark won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2009. Then 2010. Then 2011. Then 2012. Then 2013. Five consecutive years. No other company in Britain has achieved this before or since. In July 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron visited Sun Mark's Greenford headquarters personally to present the fifth award. The Institute of Directors named Rami Director of the Year for 2013. The Institute of Export recognised the consecutive award achievement in 2013.
- The European community named him European Export Champion in 2014. Overall, Her Majesty the Queen recognised Rami eight times for business and community achievement.
- In 2005, HRH Prince Charles presented Rami with an MBE for his services to British business and the Asian community. In 2016, his Queen's honour was elevated from MBE to CBE in the New Year Honours List, reflecting the continued depth and breadth of his contributions to British life.
- Three honorary doctorates followed: from Preston University in the USA for his contribution to business, a Doctor of Letters from the University of West London, and an honorary doctorate from London South Bank University.
The Political Architect — 25 Years, Zero Asian MPs to Secretaries of State
- In politics, Lord Rami Ranger identified a structural injustice within British democracy itself. When he and Lord Suri co-founded the British Asian Conservative Link, the Conservative Party had zero Asian representation in the House of Commons. Not a single Asian voice in Parliament in one of Britain's two great governing parties.
- They committed 25 years to changing it, organising hundreds of high-profile events bringing Conservative leaders face to face with British Asian communities. "You can imagine how difficult it must have been to break the mould of a party set a century ago," Rami says. The result is visible in British political life today. The Conservative Party now counts Secretaries of State, Cabinet members, and numerous MPs of Asian origin among its ranks.
- Lord Rami Ranger served as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Friends of India and currently serves as its Patron. He chaired and hosted the Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth annual fundraising dinner twice, donated £1.5 million to the Conservative Party between 2009 and 2024, and was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Ranger of Mayfair in the City of Westminster on October 11, 2019, nominated in Theresa May's resignation honours. He is married to Renu Ranger and has three children including daughter Reena.
The Community Builder — Hindu Ball, Indo-Pakistan Unity, and Bridges Across Every Divide
- After the 7/7 and 21/7 bombings of the London Underground in 2005, Lord Rami Ranger set up the Pakistan, India and UK Friendship Forum, recruiting prominent Pakistanis in Britain and bringing them together with British Indians. For the first time anywhere in the world, he organised the joint Independence Day celebrations of India and Pakistan in London, uniting two communities separated for 60 years. The impact of that initiative can be seen in broader developments including the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor in 2019.
- As a founder member of the Hindu Forum of Britain, he organised the first-ever Hindu Ball at The Hilton Hotel, Park Lane in London, attended by 750 elite guests each paying £150, with 30 members from both Houses of Parliament and government ministers in attendance. The auction and raffle raised £80,000 for Hindu temple security across Britain. The Ball directly resulted in a Hindu adviser being placed in every British government department to advise on Hindu beliefs, a lasting institutional change protecting the dignity and self-esteem of Britain's Hindu community.
- He established the British Sikh Association to raise the profile of Sikhs in the UK and promote interfaith dialogue, rooted in the true vision of the Sikh Gurus for diversity, acceptance, and unity.
- As a Fellow of the Prince's Trust, Rami mentors underprivileged young people. He served on the Prime Minister's Apprenticeship Delivery Board as Apprenticeship Ambassador for the Food and Drink Industry. He is a Patron of Combat Stress, supporting the mental health of Armed Forces members, and a Patron of the Punjabi Society of the British Isles.
The Philanthropist — Over £1.2 Million Given and a Legacy Built in Stone
- Lord Rami Ranger's philanthropy is built on cheques written and centres opened. He donated £250,000 to London South Bank University to establish the Lord Rami Ranger Centre for Graduate Entrepreneurship. He donated £200,000 to the University of West London to build a campus library pavilion and student accommodation. He donated £100,000 to the Gandhi Memorial Foundation Trust which erected the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square in London. He donated £100,000 to Thames Hospice in Maidenhead, £150,000 to The Prince's Trust, £50,000 to Cancer Research UK, £125,000 to the Indian Gymkhana for athlete accommodation, £25,000 to Combat Stress, and raised £25,000 for Help the Heroes. "If his mother had not been educated, he would not be where he is today," he says. That conviction is why he has invested over £450,000 in British universities alone.
The Greatest Legacies Are Built by People Who Were Given Nothing Except the Right Values
- The sharpest lesson from Lord Rami Ranger's journey is this: the most enduring achievements in business, politics, and community life are built not by people who started with the most advantages but by people who started with the most conviction.
- Rami started in a refugee camp. He arrived in Britain in 1971 with no network, no inherited wealth, and no elite education. He built a £200 million company exporting to 130 countries from a shed with an estate car. He changed the ethnic composition of a British political party across 25 years. He organised the first joint Indo-Pakistan Independence Day celebration in world history. He placed Hindu advisers in every British government department. He donated over £1.2 million to universities, hospices, and charitable causes. And he did all of it while building the only British company ever to win five consecutive Queen's Awards for Enterprise in International Trade.
- His father gave his life for unity and tolerance. His mother Harbans Kaur gave him the values that made him who he became. And his own life has been the fullest possible proof that those values, planted in a refugee camp in Patiala, can grow into something that a nation recognises, a democracy reflects, and a generation learns from.
- "He says all one needs is self-respect, work ethic, commitment, and empathy for others to succeed."
Lord Rami Ranger, Baron Ranger of Mayfair, is the living proof.
Sources: Global Indian, The Enterprise World, Sun Mark Official Website, Wikipedia, Conservative Friends of India, FED Education, WEF India, Memorial Gates Council, WOWNEWS24X7
