Two brothers who arrived in this country with just £5 in their pockets were today named among the richest Asians in Britain.

Vijay and Patel of Benfleet - who with his brother Bhikhu is worth £113 million - run an Essex-based business that has been ranked 11th in the official Asian richlist published today.

They own the wholesale pharmaceutical company Waymade, as well as a string of Chemys shops.

The brothers had known great deprivation in their native Nairobi. Their father died when Vijay was six and their mother worked as a nursery teacher to bring up the two boys and their sister single-handed.

She was, said Vijay, his inspiration.

When he first arrived in this country 31 years ago, he took a washing-up job in a restaurant to get him through Leicester University where he gained a degree in pharmacy. After a post-graduate year, Vijay opened his first chemist's shop in Elm Road, Leigh which, now run by his wife Smita, is still going strong to this day.

Now Vijay, 49, is chief executive of Waymade Healthcare in Miles Gray Road, Basildon, which he runs with his brother, 51.

But Vijay, who has two sons, said: "Fortunes are relative. A fortune is not anything other than what you can do with it. In my case, I would like to provide employment in Essex.

"We employ 450 people and I hope in years to take it to 4,500. It is a very, very dynamic company."

Despite his wealth, Vijay still gets back behind the counter on Saturdays to keep in touch with his customers.

He said: "The main thing is to contribute to society and the community we live in. We are very much Essex people.

"What origin you are is not important, what you contribute to your community is."

Bhikhu trained as an architect, but then teamed up with his brother, expanding the number of shops in Essex to 15. Vijay concentrates on sales while brother Bhikhu is the finance man.

Picture, top: Striking it rich - Bhikhu and Vijay Patel are number 11 in the Asian rich list.

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