Imran hakim
Biography

At 16 years young, Imran, eldest of five, took his first steps in the world of business buying and selling computers whilst still at school.

Imran begins studying Optometry at the University of Manchester, maintaining the IT business throughout his studies. He qualifies four years later.

The first practice, Hakim Opticians, opens from scratch in Imran's home town of Bolton. Imran's sister, Hafiza, books their dad in as the very first patient.

Imran makes his first-ever acquisition, Bussin Opticians in Failsworth, already had an established patient base and none of the difficulties of a start-up practice. The seed of an idea was sown!

The portfolio of independent practices continued to grow and spread across the north of the country. The Hakim Group was formed. The innovative approach of the Group led to several awards including one from HRH The Prince of Wales, now HM King Charles III.

Exploration of other business opportunities now starts with the unlikely inception of iTeddy; which quickly turns into one of the most successful seen on BBC’s Dragon’s Den with product sales into 45 countries globally.

As well as surpassing 100 independent practices, Hakim Group is also announced as the UK’s Best Small Company To Work For in the Sunday Times 2018 Best Companies Awards. Imran also receives a special award for Best Leader, beating some of the UK’s best-known CEOs.

Imran is honoured with the main award for Entrepreneur of the Year at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. He was also presented with the award for Scale Up Entrepreneur 2019 at the ceremony.

During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Imran spearheaded the #StrongerTogether initiative, which provided independent optical practices with free access to vital business support through a series of thought-leadership webinars and online resources.

As Hakim Group passes the milestone of 200 practices, more than doubling its portfolio in less than 2 years.

In 2022, Imran launched the Hakim Group’s first bespoke frame collection, Equal, which is exclusive to the independent practices in its portfolio across the UK to help them differentiate themselves on the High Street.

Imran adds Amplify Hearing to the Hakim Group portfolio. Its audiologists work with independent opticians to provide people with free hearing tests and the very best in clinical hearing healthcare.

Hakim Group is now home to more than 400 independent family practices across the UK and Ireland, with some even further afield.