AHSAN Ali Syed is in charge of an investment firm with assets worth more than £8billion.

He has a track record of turning around failing businesses and debt management.

The 36-year-old was educated in London and splits his time between Bahrain, where his firm is based, and Switzerland.

Mr Syed started his first business at the age of 16 and closed his first £1million deal at the age of 18, according to his website.

He acts as a financial adviser to monarchs and royalty across the Middle East through his firm Western Gulf Advisory.

And Mr Syed plays a role in the management and the boards of more than 133 companies worldwide.

Mr Syed, a teetotaller, has said that he has few constraints on investments although he would not invest in alcohol-related businesses or gambling on moral grounds.

Writing in a trade publication recently he said: “Very often, people start their lives and businesses without having developed financial abilities to sustain lives or businesses.

“Our mission is to help transform these inabilities into abilities, so instead of failures, you achieve success.”

Mr Syed says that in 2003 he bought a Canadian company for 565,000 Canadian dollars and transformed it into a booming business worth eight million within only 16 months.

The company’s annual report claims WGA is one of the fastest growing companies in the Middle East, going from 64million US dollars at the end of 2008 to $1.2billion a year later.

WGA’s website reports that: “He considers himself and his company to be experts in turnaround stories by converting non-performing assets into performing assets.”

He has received praise for his leadership from industry publication RTCC.

The Courier Mail, a popular newspaper in Queensland, Australia, where Mr Syed owns several businesses, said WGA was currently completing a rapid expansion.

It said: “WGA is a European and Middle Eastern financial services company which has already invested about £370million into property developments in New South Wales and South Australia.

“The company is owned by Mr Syed and he and his chief financial officer Omer Khan who are developing a 10-year plan to grow WGA’s assets internationally.”

Last month Western Gulf Advisory agreed a partnership with Irish building contractors McCabe Group with a £300m cash injection after the firm hit difficulties.

And a deal to buy Australia’s biggest cotton farm, Cubbie Station, is still on the table.

Mr Syed’s personal wealth of an estimated £7bn could put him towards the top of British football’s rich list if he completes the takeover.

QPR major shareholder Lakshmi Mittal is the richest man in football at £18.4bn, according to a recent survey.

Manchester City benefactor Sheikh Mansour comes in second at £17bn, with Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich next at £7.8bn.

Below Mr Syed would be Tottenham’s Joe Lewis at £2.5bn and Arsenal’s Stan Kroenke at £2.079bn.

The Glazers at Manchester United are reported to have a wealth of £1.5bn, while Aston Villa's Randy Lerner is said to have £800m.

In 2008, the Walker Trust - the fund set up after former Rovers benefactor Jack Walker’s death 10 years ago - was rated at £750m.

FACTFILE

• Ahsan Ali Syed is a 36-year-old married father of three from Hyderbad in India.

• Mr Syed's family is described as one of the most prominent business families in Hyderbad of the last 150 years.

• The family business is said to have its origins in the East India Company, which was set up in 1600 to handle England's trade with the country.

• Blackburn is known as a Cotton Town - and Mr Syed's family used to own huge cotton fields in south India.

• Mr Syed is a legal graduate educated at the London School of Economics.

• Mr Syed, 36, closed his first £1million deal at the age of 18 and started his first business at 16, according to his website.

• He owns 90 per cent of an investment firm Western Gulf Advisory (WGA) which is reported to have assets of £8billion.

• Through WGA Mr Syed plays a role in the management and the boards of more than 133 companies worldwide.

• Reports say WGA only employs 11 staff directly but works with 3,200 consultants.

• WGA is developing a 10-year plan to build international assets and boasts a track record of turning around failing businesses.

• WGA recently invested £370million into property developments in New South Wales and South Australia and last month put £300million into Irish building contractors McCabe Group.

• Last week WGA was confirmed as the sponsor of the first-ever beach games, to be held in Bahrain.

• Mr Syed also acts as a financial adviser to monarchs and royalty across the Middle East.

• Away from business Mr Syed divides his time between Bahrain and Switzerland.

• He is a big cricket fan but describes horses as his 'true passion', and founded Bahrain-based Western Gulf Stables, which bought a number of thorougbreds from Newmarket.

• Said to be a religious man, Mr Syed is of the Muslim faith and is currently fasting for Ramadhan.