18-Year Old Who Left School At 13 Bids To Run £1.6 Billion Nisa Retail Empire

An 18-year-old whizzkid with a penchant for playing Monopoly is preparing an audacious bid to lead one of Britain's largest retailers. Harris Aslam, who left school at 13 to work in his family's grocery business, is already on the board of Nisa Retail, which supplies food and drink to more than 2,500 UK and Ireland stores. Now he has told the group's chairman that he intends to stand for election as its next chief executive. He worked for his family's grocery business and joined the Nisa board three years ago along with his cousin Raza Rehman. The pair run three shops in Fife and intend to take over six post offices.

The teenager, who divides his time between business and studying for a law degree, said: 'I have a vision of where I want the business to be in five years – £2billion turnover and beyond, united, unified and harnessing the talent we have with the existing membership.

And Mr Aslam insisted his youth should not be a barrier to leading a major company. 'Two years ago there was criticism when I applied for the [non-executive director] role. I was against three other applicants who had a lot more experience, but the membership chose me. 'It wasn't by a small majority, it was a clear majority. 'The membership is passionate for change. We've already delivered a lot of change within the business since my appointment.'

But a statement from Nisa hinted Mr Aslam's bid may have come a few years too soon. 'Anybody can apply for this, but when push comes to shove we have a robust process in place with an executive search firm,' said the company in a statement. 'It's going to be someone who's suitably experienced and with a very strong background in executive-level management who will get the position.

Scunthorpe-based Nisa was formed in 1977 as the Northern Independent Supermarkets Association to protect the interests of small retailers by seeking safety in numbers. It began with only 30 retailers with a combined turnover of £20million, but has since grown into a nationwide behemoth with sales of £1.6billion.

Current chief executive Neil Turton announced last month that he would be leaving after 23 years with the company, triggering a leadership race. His successor faces a tough challenge, after Nisa's biggest customer Costcutter walked away from their 27-year relationship in July, taking £500million of sales with it.

Credit: DailyMail UK