The award recognizes his role in building many of the country’s largest businesses, including Euro Car Parts, Dominus and most recently GSF Car Parts based in the Midlands.

Ahluwalia acquired GSF Car Parts in 2023 and has since become the UK’s fastest growing car parts distributor.

Over the past 12 months, the company has expanded rapidly, opening 15 new stores, bringing its total to over 200 stores across the network. GSF Car Parts is based in Sutton Coldfield.

The company plans to add another 15 branches in the coming year, which will create hundreds of new jobs across the country.

Earlier this year, GSF also signed a multi-million-pound mega-deal for a new 500,000 sq ft national distribution center in Wolverhampton to support the company’s rapid growth.

Mr Ahluwalia said: “It is a great honor to receive this award. I am extremely grateful to all my friends, team members and partners who have contributed to the success of my companies over the years. I am proud of my role. I have been involved in creating jobs and businesses across the length and breadth of the country.”

The Asian Achievers Awards, now in their 22nd year, honor the outstanding work of individuals within the South Asian community in politics, business and civil society. The Businessman of the Year award was sponsored by Andaria. The awards ceremony, which took place at London’s Hilton Park Lane, attracted over 500 distinguished guests from around the world and was hosted by former Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra and ITV news presenter Anila Dhami.

The award recognized Ahluwalia’s achievements in starting and growing businesses. In 1978 he founded Euro Car Parts in a single shop, and the company has been consistently recognized as one of the best performing companies in the UK in The Sunday Times Top Track 250.

By 2018, the company had revenues of over £1.2 billion, with a branch network spanning 350 locations and employing 11,500 people. The company was sold to Nasdaq-listed LKQ Corp in 2014, and Ahluwalia remained as executive chairman of LKQ’s UK, Ireland and India businesses until 2018.

In 2011, Ahluwalia founded Dominus, which has since grown to become one of the UK’s largest private property developers and operators, with top quality properties in London and other major UK cities.

Ahluwalia also has business and charity work in India, having pledged to invest up to £10 million in the state of Punjab, and seeks to support tech entrepreneurs across the country. It has also supported the construction of a new school in Faridabad in recent years and plans to continue to expand its operations in India ahead of its long-term aspiration to return to the country.

He added: “I love leading companies to the forefront and I am very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to do what I love – starting and building companies – almost every day of my life. I never really saw it as I was going to give GSF all the energy I have before I started thinking about hanging up my boots and going back to India.”