In front of 800 guests at the Hilton Hotel Park Lane last Tuesday May the 15th Chris Lazari received a life time award from the current Miss World at the Props Presentation organised by the Variety Club with Awards being presented to different persons in different worlds in the property business. On the same night Lord Sebastian Coe received the “Most significant contribution to London Award to with the work he is doing towards the success of the London Olympic Games.
The lifetime Award has put Chris Lazari in good company. Previous winners are Lord Palumbo, Lord Sterling, Sir John Ritblat, Sir William Mcalpine and Gerald Ronson.
In attendance with Chris Lazari at the prestigious evening were Archbishop Gregorious and the High Commissioner of Cyprus in the UK Alexandros Zenon.
Before his presentation there was a film on Chris Lazaris life where it started from where he left his village Dora in Limassol and at 16 years old reached the shores of the UK with £20 in his pocket to seek a future here in London.
In the film it disclosed that he had a built a property portfolio that now stands at £1.6 billion.
This was followed by testimonials from various business people such as the Chief Executive of Legal & General Graham Rouse
After the presentation Chris Lazari spoke
“Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Afternoon.
I would like to thank the Variety Club PROPS very much for awarding me this prestigious award which I will cherish very much indeed.
I must say it has been a wonderful journey from the time I came to this country some 50 years ago at the age of 16 until standing here today.
It is a journey which I have enjoyed every minute of and one which I very much hope will continue for me for quite some time to come.
Receiving the award is all the more special as it is associated with The Variety Club Children’s Charity which is truly a great charity.
I started my working life with absolutely no money.
In my early twenties I began investing in small properties to secure my young family’s financial position with money I earned from my involvement in the fashion business.
I was very ambitious and very hard working and I believe it was these qualities and my real love of the property business which drove me on to build a large property portfolio.
Sir Winston Churchill said ‘However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.’ I often consider the results.
My strategy from the very early days has been and still remains one of simplicity and staying around and in control.
I am often asked why I have left my business with such a simple structure and so transparent.
As regards the staying around and in control part of the strategy – I remember one of my very early small developments, I drew a line in chalk on a wall.
I instructed the builders to knock down all the building to the RIGHT of the line, I then went for lunch.
After lunch I went to check what had been done. The builders had knocked down all the building to the LEFT of the line.
As a natural consequence I prefer dinners to lunches and I believe being around is very important.
I feel privileged to have been involved in the property business for so many years and I am very proud of theUKproperty sector.
In order to be successful in providing suitable property to tenants it is necessary to understand all the requirements of those tenants and to understand their businesses.
In trying to achieve this goal I have been fortunate in coming into contact with many different businesses and great people over the years.
This Lifetime Achievement Award is very special to me because I feel it reflects not only my achievements to date but also my love for the property sector.
I would like to encourage all young people entering the property world to truly be excited about what they are doing. As Aristotle said ‘Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work’.
Even in these somewhat difficult times new entrants are lucky to be involved in such a great business.
I wish I had another 50 years in this business like them instead of only another 30 years.
I would like to thank the other Directors and all my staff who have offered so much over the years.
It is their loyalty, expertise and hard work that have been so important to the success of our business.
Once again I would like to say I am deeply honoured to receive the award and would like to say thank you to the Variety Club and its tireless supporters.
Thank you very much”.
Parikiaki congratulates Chris Lazari on this great achievement