Arshad Khan’s ‘Chaiwala’ company in financial trouble because of non-payment

Arshad Khan, a tea-stall owner who rose to fame for his exceptionally good looks is in news again as the famous Chaiwala has run into serious financial troubles. He launched his Chaiwala London café a year ago in London, England with the help of two franchise owners, who also happen to be cousins.

Arshad Khan has not been paid royalty as promised by UK franchise owners, according to an insider. He has been requesting the London café owners who have refused to pay him because of business losses. Additionally, they also refused to pay rent to the landlord.

Background

Arshad Khan’s brand was brought to the UK last year by two cousins: Nadir Khan Durrani and Yaver Akbar Durrani. UK Companies House record shows that Yaver Akbar Durrani registered Cafe Chaiwala Ltd under company number 13205566.

Nadir is a UK national and Yaver Akbar Durrani is a Canadian national who lives in the United States. They registered the company in early 2021 and are currently running the business actively.

Café Chaiwala Arshad Khan is located in East London on 229 Ilford Lane. The situation is bad to the extent that the café never opened its ground floor section to the public because of poor quality of service. It was a big hit when it opened last year but the poor quality, mismanagement and lack of hygiene at the café deterred the customers, according to reports.

When opening the café last year in London Yaver Akbar Durrani and Nadir Durrani announced that they would open several franchises of “Café Chaiwala Arshad Khan” in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

Now the two cousins have run into a legal dispute with the owner of the building after failing to pay rent of over six months, citing business losses and complaining that that the rent is too much and should be reduced. Yaver Durrani met Arshad Khan in Islamabad and made promises to clear the pending monthly royalty but later on told him he cannot pay him until the business goes into profit. He told Arshad Khan that too many Chai cafes have opened nearby on the same street and that has damaged the business. Arshad Khan has been trying to keep the issue private to protect his brand, he says. Durrani is also accusing Arshad Khan of not delivering the full recipes to the London café as promised originally.

Failed Promises

A source at Arshad Khan Chaiwala told Pakistan Today that Arshad sold the international franchise to the Durrani brothers but they have broken the contract and agreement by not paying royalties to Arshad Khan and continuing to use his name. Therefore, Arshad Khan will not allow them to use the brand and franchise anymore. “Both sides have threatened legal action against each other,” said the source from Islamabad.

During the London launch, the Master Franchisees-UK promised that Arshad Khan will visit London soon to meet his fans and to brew ‘karak’ chai for them. Later, they didn’t make arrangements for his travel to the UK as the non-payments estranged the two parties.