Tributes have been paid to Lord David Alliance a founder of N Brown,who has died at the age of 93
Born in Iran, he moved to Manchester at the age of 18
As he described in his 2015 autobiography, A Bazaar Life, “six years later he bought a loss-making textile mill, turned it around in six months and went on to build the biggest textile company in the Western world. At one stage his businesses, including his mail-order company, N Brown Group, employed more than 80,000 people.”
Knighted in 1989, he was elevated to the Peerage in 2004, where he took the Liberal Democrat whip.
Known for his significant philanthropy, Lord Alliance was also directly involved in successful efforts to help rescue Ethiopian Jews and bring them to Israel, negotiating directly with the then-dictator of Ethiopia, Mengistu Haile Mariam.
He was founding shareholder at N Brown serving on the board for over 50 years and was a key figure in British retail.
Steve Johnson, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Without Lord Alliance there would be no N Brown, an employer of around 1,500 people nationwide. Lord Alliance had a career defined by entrepreneurship, public service and philanthropy, and was a titan of British retail.
“He was a source of great wisdom for me and for so many of us at N Brown and it was a privilege to have worked with him. We will all miss him and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his wife, Lady Homa Alliance, his son Joshua Alliance – a director of the company – and their wider family.”
Lord Alliance had a long standing relationship with the Manchester Business School, to which he also generously donated, and in 2015 it was renamed as the Alliance Manchester Business School in his honour.
Lord Alliance was made an Honorary Fellow of UMIST in 1988 and received an Honorary LLD from the Victoria University of Manchester in 1989. He was also made an Honorary Doctor of Law by The University of Manchester in 2016.
Professor Ken McPhail, Head of Alliance Manchester Business School said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lord David Alliance. His extraordinary generosity and support have shaped our School and left an enduring legacy across the University.
