SOURCE:
Accrington Stanley April 2005
Ilyas is an old Accringtonian. His family still live in Accrington, and despite having lived and worked in Hong Kong since 1989, Ilyas manages to get back home 5 to 6 times a year, and fitting in a Stanley game every now and then. Ilyas attended Accrington Grammar School, and then took his A levels at the Accrington College on Sandy Lane. Following an honours degree at the University of London, he joined the City Merchant Banking firm of Schroders in 1984, spending the next 15 years building a successful career as an investment banker. In 1994 for example Ilyas was chosen as one of the top 100 investment bankers in the World by the magazine Global Finance, and a number of transactions managed and completed by him were selected as “deal of the year” by industry commentators.
In 1998 Ilyas started his own investment company, and as a consequence is the Chairman of Hong Kong listed Techpacific Capital which has a market value of over US$200 million. In 2002 Ilyas also acquired and founded Crosby Capital Partners, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a value of over £225 million. Ilyas is also a non executive director of London stock exchange listed Speymill Group, and Australian Stock Exchange listed Amerod Resources.
Ilyas has retained a close link with Accrington Stanley for many years, and in 1993 became a significant shareholder in the club. He has donated to the club on various occasions in order to help building and expansion projects such as the seated area in front of the main lounge and the installation of floodlighting here at the ground. In addition to his business career, Ilyas is a published author. His book, “Underdogs in Overdrive” was published in February 2000, and he has also contributed regularly to a variety of magazines and newspapers both in Asia and Britain.
Ilyas is married to Mara, and has a young son named Elijah. The whole family are dedicated Stanley supporters, and Ilyas is looking forward to 2023 when Elijah might be able to compete for a place in the first eleven (by which time the team will be playing in the Premiership!)