Tributes have poured in for Sucha Singh, former owner of Thames Cash and Carry in Reading, Berkshire, who passed away suddenly from a cardiac arrest on February 1. He was 71.
He was the founding member of Nisa/Todays buying group and sat on the board of Today’s until shortly before the merger with Landmark Wholesale to form Unitas in 2018.
Singh, and his brother Pindi, sold Thames Cash and Carry in 2017 to Nilesh Agrawal of Gemini Wholesalers. Sucha has been spending time on his other business interests and with his family since then.
Thames Cash and Carry started as a small group of retail shops in 1976. After some time of operating a private warehouse for their own retail shops, the brothers soon saw the need for a wholesale cash and carry in the region, establishing the wholesale business in 1983.
“Sucha Singh was a loving husband, father, grandfather, son and brother. He was an inspiration to all and because of his dedication and tireless work, he was able to provide a better future for the entire Gill family,” the family said.
“He was endlessly kind to everyone he met and he connected to all generations, whether it was his own peers or his loving grandchildren.
“He will be missed beyond measure by the entire family and leaves a large void in our lives. We will love him forever and with every chapter ahead, he will always be with us. We thank him for the legacy he created for us all.”
Paying his tributes, former Nisa chief executive Neil Turton wrote: “Sucha was such a key figure in Nisa-Today's development and my formative years there. I remember him as a real gentleman on the Board, always calm and astute in his advice and a real role model.”
John Baines, who retired last year as Unitas trading director, said: “Really sad news to hear of the passing of Sucha. Have known him for over 30 years, sitting beside him both as a fellow Council member of Nisa Today’s and from 1994 onwards when I became an employee and later as a director of Today’s. Always a real gent, a voice of calm and reason with an innate understanding of wholesale. Sucha always ensured the voice of the smaller members was heard and represented on the board. Will be greatly missed.”
Simon Gray, Boost Drinks founder, said: “A customer and a friend for nearly two decades taken too soon. Sucha was one of the first Southern based wholesalers we traded with, who taught many of us so much, and whose wholesale wisdom will stand the test of time. A softly spoken, warm and kind person, Sucha symbolised what it means that people buy from people and will be sadly missed by so many. Thoughts of all the Boost team are with all the family at this most difficult time.”
