Leading pizza franchise, Papa John’s, has announced franchisees Zulfiqar Haidar and Iftikhar Haidar have won the Outstanding Achievement Category in the Scottish Asian Business Awards held at the Glasgow City Hotel on 9 December.  

The ceremony which marked the tenth anniversary of the awards, showcased the achievements, determination and hard work of Scottish Asian business men and women at the forefront of their industries. 

Zulfiqar Haidar runs three Papa John’s in Glasgow with his brother Iftikhar and has recently opened a fourth store in Paisley.  He commented: “Our new Paisley Papa John’s store was selected specifically due to the area’s high unemployment.  We work with our local job centres to help bring the long term unemployed back into work. 

“By training new recruits we give them a skillset and offer them a real future by creating a win-win situation,” continues Zulfiqar.  “All we require is enthusiasm and in return, we offer extensive one-to-one training in-store, backed up by Papa Johns’ excellent online training program. So with the right dedication and effort any member of staff can make their mark and have the chance to become a supervisor or manager in one of the stores.  We are delighted that our work has been recognised in this way and look forward to creating more new jobs for the local community as we grow.”

Anthony Round business development manager, Papa John’s commented:  “We are particularly proud of the achievements of Zulfiqar and Iftikhar and their team and will continue to support them in their future plans for expansion in the region.  The potential business and demand for Papa John’s is such that I know they are already looking at potentially opening a fifth store in Scotland soon.”