September 2026
Strengthening UK–Bangladesh links in Dhaka
A visit to Bangladesh that included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.
Meet Siddiqur Rahman.
Restaurateur.
Entrepreneur. Leader.
From a £10-a-week restaurant job to Restaurant of the Year: more than three decades of building businesses in Britain and links with Bangladesh.
Recognised & associated with
- Curry LifeRestaurant of the Year 2024
- UKBCCIRegional President
- Conservative Friendsof Bangladesh · Award 2022
- BCAFormer Vice President
- BBBFSecretary
- Peace HospiceCharity evenings
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September 2026
A meeting in South Surma
On the same visit, he met the Mayor of South Surma, the area of Sylhet his family comes from.
May 2026
Bringing entrepreneurs together
An entrepreneur networking event, part of his work connecting business owners across the East of England.
October 2025
A new regional committee for the East of England
More than 150 entrepreneurs, community leaders and dignitaries attended the launch at Crescent Hall, Luton.
December 2023
Speaking for safer roads
A speaker at the 30th anniversary of Nirapad Sarak Chai (the Safe Roads movement) in London, where the Bangladesh High Commissioner was chief guest.
November 2023
UKBCCI and FBCCI sign an MoU
Speaking at the UKBCCI business networking event and memorandum of understanding signing with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry in London.
About Siddiqur
Restaurateur, entrepreneur, investor & community leader
Siddiqur Rahman Joynal was born in Luton in 1971, into one of the town’s early Bangladeshi families. His father, Haji Ataur Rahman, had come to Britain from Dakshin Surma in Sylhet, settling first in Birmingham and then in Luton. Siddiqur left school in 1987 and went straight into restaurant work, earning £10 a week.
In 1989 he opened his first business, a takeaway in Oxford. In 1997 he opened Raj Garden in Bushey with his brother Ziaur, and its success became the foundation for everything that followed: a property portfolio, a family partnership and a life of public service.
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A journey of three decades
From £10 a week to Restaurant of the Year
- 1971Born in Luton
- 1987Starts in restaurants at £10 a week
- 1989First business, Oxford
- 1997Opens Raj Garden, Bushey
- 2020Hundreds of meals for the NHS
- 2021UKBCCI Regional President
- 2024Restaurant of the Year
Our businesses
Raj Garden
Opened in 1997 on Park Avenue, Bushey, with his brother Ziaur, Raj Garden began as a 45-seat dining room and has grown into a 200-cover restaurant at the heart of the local community.
Head chef Anhar Miah has been in its kitchen for the best part of 25 years and is now a partner in the business. In 2024, Raj Garden was named Restaurant of the Year at the Curry Life Awards.
“The award is truly a family effort that has been painstakingly built up over the past 30 years.”Siddiqur Rahman, Curry Life
Visit Raj Garden (opens in a new tab)Our businesses
Property & energy
Raj Garden’s success gave him the means to build a property portfolio. A chance meeting with his nephew at a property seminar became Simply Move, a joint venture built on family trust.
মামা-ভাগনে যেখানে, আপদ নাই সেখানে “Where uncle and nephew stand together, no trouble follows.”
Through Everbright Renewable Energy, he is involved in a 100 MW renewable energy project in Bangladesh.
Get in touch
Charity
Giving back, in Britain and Bangladesh
With his brother Ziaur, Siddiqur Rahman supports families in need in Sylhet through a trust and a foundation that carry their late father’s name, while at home Raj Garden has fed NHS staff and raised funds for local causes.
Charity · Sylhet
Ramadan food packages
Through the Late Hazi Ataur Rahman (Sufi Miah) Trust, Siddiqur and Ziaur distribute Ramadan food packages to families in need in Raykhail, Jalalpur, in South Surma, Sylhet: the same corner of Bangladesh their father came from.
“Every good act counts. Good actions give strength.”The Trust’s motto
Charity · Bangladesh
Flood relief
When floods left families without food, the Ataur Rahman Sufi Miah Foundation organised the distribution of cooked meals to people affected, led by Siddiqur and his brother.
The trust and the foundation both carry their father’s name, and both are run by the two brothers from the UK.
Charity · Bushey
Feeding the front line
During the pandemic, Raj Garden supplied hundreds of meals to local hospitals and NHS staff, and Bushey’s community help group publicly thanked him and his team for sending meals every week. Those ties have lasted, and many NHS workers are now regular customers.
The restaurant has long hosted charity evenings for the Peace Hospice in Watford, and its tenth-anniversary night alone raised more than £1,440.
Get involvedMore moments of giving
South Surma, Sylhet
Packages ready for families
Ramadan food packages from the Late Hazi Ataur Rahman (Sufi Miah) Trust, packed and ready to hand out.
Bushey · 2020
Meals for the NHS
Meals packed at Raj Garden for local hospitals and NHS staff during the pandemic.
Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire
Walk with Dabir Chacha
Joining the Bangladesh Caterers Association, East of England Region-1, for a charity walk held in more than 150 cities worldwide.
Recognition
Awards & honours
- 2024Restaurant of the YearCurry Life Awards, awarded to Raj Garden, Bushey
- 2022Contributions during COVID-19Conservative Friends of Bangladesh, presented by Oliver Dowden
- PressEntrepreneur ProfileCurry Life magazine and the UKBCCI Newsletter
UKBCCI East of England
The UK Bangladesh Catalysts of Commerce & Industry brings together entrepreneurs, investors and young professionals across Britain and Bangladesh. Siddiqur Rahman has served as Regional President for the East of England since 2021, and in October 2025 he launched a new regional committee at Crescent Hall, Luton, with a keynote from UKBCCI President M. G. Moula Miah MBE.
The region hosts networking events, round tables, business roadshows and Eid reunions, and works with the Bangladesh High Commission, local mayors and councillors. He is also a former Vice President of the Bangladesh Caterers Association and Secretary of the British Bangladesh Business Forum.
“UKBCCI is not just a business organisation. It is a symbol of unity for expatriate entrepreneurs.”
Let’s build something together
For business, community or press enquiries, Siddiqur Rahman can be reached through Raj Garden in Bushey.