Aagrah founder honoured

THE founder of Kashmiri restaurant group Aagrah has been awarded an honorary degree by Leeds Metropolitan University.

Mohammed Sabir opened the first Aagrah restaurant in Shipley in 1977.

Over the past 30 years, the family-led Aagrah group has opened a further 13 restaurants in Yorkshire, including five in Leeds, with an annual turnover of £15m.

Mr Sabir said: “It is a really proud day and a great honour to receive this honorary award from Leeds Metropolitan. I would encourage today’s graduating students to use your education wisely, work hard and follow your dreams in all of your life.”

Sabir has helped to raise more than £1.2m for charities in England and Pakistan and, in 2002, he set up the charitable arm of the Aargrah group, the Jannat Welfare International Trust, whose annual charity dinners raise large amounts of money for good causes.

As a result of his charity work, he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 2006 New Year’s Honours list as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bradford Community Awards in the same year.