London :

An India-born British ‘curry queen’ who made her name supplying ready-made Indian meals to supermarkets and pubs in the UK is looking for new backers for her food empire.

Perween Warsi, who moved to the UK from India in the 1970s, wants to expand her S&A Foods firm with an injection of fresh funds.

Advisers from PriceWaterhouseCoopers firm have been hired to lead the search for the company, she set up nearly 30 years ago, from her kitchen, according to the Sunday Times.

The Derby-based caterer, which has 600 staff, makes Indian curry dishes for UK supermarkets including the chain Asda, its biggest customer.

Sales last year were 51 million pounds with pre-tax profits of almost £700,000.

Warsi was famously inspired to start the company after being appalled by the quality of a samosa she had bought from a supermarket.

She founded S&A Foods in 1986 by supplying her local Indian takeaway and the following year had her big break after persuading several large grocery chains to include her food in a series of taste tests.

Warsi was producing the curries from home but, after beating several established food manufacturers in the tests, was persuaded to open a factory.

She was honoured with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002.

S&A Foods confirmed it was “seeking partners” to fund future expansion and new production facilities.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> NRI> Other News / by PTI / March 09th, 2014