Sadru Visram, a pioneering figure in social housing who guided London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) through transformative growth, has died aged 81. The former group finance director was also a devoted family man and a pillar of his Ismaili Muslim community.
Career in social housing
Visram joined L&Q in 1981 and spent 20 years there, rising to become group finance director. During his tenure, the housing association grew from 10,000 homes to 35,000, with a turnover exceeding £100m. At a time when housing associations were heavily dependent on grants, Visram developed strategies that opened capital markets to the sector. His pioneering contribution was recognised in 2005 when he was made an OBE.
After leaving L&Q, Visram worked as a consultant and served on several boards, most notably as a founder board member of Asra Greater London Housing Association. His legacy in bricks and mortar is commemorated in the naming of Visram House in Park Royal, north-west London.
Early life and move to Britain
Born in Zanzibar, east Africa, Sadru was the eldest of three brothers. His father, Habib Lalji Visram, repaired radios from the family shop, while his mother, Nurbanu (née Sivji), was a strong believer in education and used to wake her sons up at 4am to study as she sold tobacco and drinks to patrons of the bus station next door. Sadru attended King George VI school, now the Lumumba secondary school.
When revolution came to Zanzibar in 1964, the family relocated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Initially wanting to be an engineer, Sadru started working with associates of Deloitte and became a qualified accountant. He moved to Britain in 1969, arriving with ambition, ability and a willingness to work.
Personal life and community involvement
In 1973, the year he started at KPMG, where he rose to become a senior manager with a portfolio of quoted public companies, he married Teresa Warne, a librarian, whom he had met while living in a hostel in Lancaster Gate, London. His compassionate nature meant he gave generously of his time; he was a school governor, a treasurer of Age Concern Newham, and a member of the Aga Khan Economic Planning Board. His faith remained central to his life.
Sadru enjoyed playing badminton and bridge, practised yoga, and his taste in music ran, he would say, strictly to Bollywood. He made friends easily and engaged warmly with all he met. He is survived by Teresa, their children, Farah, Toby and Anisa, four grandchildren, and his brothers, Azad and Shokat.
