Shaf Rasul snaps up a bargain as he takes control of websites from protege

Published on Monday 8 February 2010 21:13

INTERNET entrepreneur Shaf Rasul has taken control of an online retail business in which he invested while mentoring its managing director.

Rasul put up 250,000 two years ago to take a minority stake in bigoffers.co.uk, a West Midlands-based discount retailer, but now has sole control of the firm and its sister site, boffer.co.uk.

Operation of the two sites, which specialise in selling bankrupt and excess stock from retailers to the general public, will move to Edinburgh and be based alongside Rasul's other interests in the city.

Rasul said the price paid will depend on future performance of the two sites, which were previously run by Cheryl Hardwick, whom he had helped mentor during expansion of the business.

Tom Mursell, 20, one of four apprentice entrepreneurs Rasul has recruited recently, will head up the operation on a day-to-day basis.

"These two sites are already phenomenally successful and attract tens of thousands of visitors a day," said Rasul. "Tom has already identified a number of ways we can improve the sites and expand the business."

Rasul said the sites would be an important part of his ambition to establish the UK's leading online discount retail portfolio.

"Formats like the pound shops are the big growth area in retail at the moment and that is what we want to tap into."

Rasul said that the two sites he had bought had something of a cult following among customers.

"One of the biggest sellers has been a mixed selection of items called 'A Bag of C***'. It might sound bizarre, but we have sold 50,000 worth of those in a single day and there are even videos on YouTube of people opening them."

Mursell previously founded the website notgoingtouni.co.uk, aimed at offering alternatives to higher education for young people.

"We have been searching for bright, energetic and driven people to join our team and Tom displays all of these attributes, said Rasul.

Rasul, who features in an online version of the BBC's Dragons Den, is estimated to be worth 48 million. His business interests include the optical-media distribution business E-Net Computers, which he established in 2000.

It is now the largest storage media distributor in Europe and one of the biggest buyers of optical storage products in the world.

As well as expanding E-Net Computers, Rasul has developed a venture capital investment portfolio worth in the region of 30m. It focuses on property, asset management and internet technology.

Rasul also has a business arm dedicated to management buy-ins and buy-outs.