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Peer, philanthropist and business pioneer Lord Alliance dies aged 93
Born in Iran in 1932, Alliance went on to become one of the wealthiest people in the UK
July 20, 2025 11:04
Born in Iran in 1932, Alliance went on to become one of the wealthiest people in the UK
July 20, 2025 11:04Lord Alliance, a Liberal Democrat peer and much loved member of the S&P Sephardi community, has passed away aged 93.
Born in the Iranian city of Kashan in 1932, at the age of 18 David Alliance travelled to Manchester where he established a thriving textiles business.
His 2015 autobiography, A Bazaar Life, said: “He bought a loss-making textile mill, turned it around in six months and went on to build the biggest textile company in the Western world. At one stage his businesses, including his mail-order company, N Brown Group, employed more than 80,000 people.”
Lord Alliance CBE later became known for his philanthropy, donating £15 million to the Manchester Business School in 2014, one of the largest donations ever to a UK institution of its type.
Jewish News reported that the S&P community wrote to its members on Friday: “We send our deepest condolences to his wife Lady Homa Alliance; children Graham Alliance, Sara Esterkin and Joshua Alliance; siblings Tella Jebreel, Nigel Alliance OBE and Moshe Alliance.
“He was deeply loved and admired by so many in our community and globally. His loss will be profoundly felt by us all.”
“We wish all the family a long life free from further sorrow.”
Lord Alliance was instrumental in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan and Ethiopia between 1984 and 1991.
He was knighted in 1989 and was given a peerage in 2004.
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