Apprentice: Long-time associate of Sohail Chowdhary says he has high hopes for him on the show

Sohail Chowdhary, one of the new candidates for this year's BBC One contest, The Apprentice Picture: Ray Burmiston/BBC

A Portsmouth businessman who has worked closely with one of this year’s Apprentice candidates says he has high hopes for him in the show.

Sohail Chowdhary was born and brought up in Southampton but has many Portsmouth links, as the owner of AG Martial Arts, which has a franchise in Portsmouth, and connections to Direct Carpet Centre in Fratton Road.

Badr Bahaj, who has worked closely with Sohail and has known him for years, is the franchise owner of the AG Martial Arts Limited Portsmouth branch.

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Lord Sugar with (front row seated left to right) Denisha Kaur Bharj, Joe Phillips, Megan Hornby, Shannon Martin, Kevin D'Arcy, Emma Browne, (middle row left to right) Avi Sharma, Bradley Johnson, Mark Moseley, Shazia Hussain, Sohail Chowdhary, Rochelle Anthony, (Back Row left to right) Marnie Swindells, Simba Rwambiwa, Dani Donovan, Gregory Ebbs, Victoria Goulbourne, and Reece Donnelly, the new candidates for this year's BBC One contest, The Apprentice

The company was founded by Mr Chowdhary, and the first branch opened in Southampton in April 2017, with the Portsmouth branch following not too long after in 2019/20.

Mr Bahaj joined the company, when the Portsmouth branch first opened, and has been running it for three-and-a-half years. He is pleased Sohail is one of the 18 candidates on the Apprentice and in with a chance of winning.

When asked about what Sohail is like in real life, Mr Bahaj said: ‘Sohail is great at being able to separate personal and business really well, for example, me and Sohail [know each other very well] and we had been before the club was set up but when it comes to business we draw the line there, he’s good at drawing that distinction.

‘So, we could be out having loads of fun, but then when we speak about business, it’s just business and it’s great that he can make that distinction, emotions don’t get involved in business and I think that’s a really good trait that he has, he keeps his emotions out of it. He’s great.’

The entrepreneur was raised in a council house and says it has driven him to become the man he is today.

He said: ‘I was raised in a council house and I’m proud of that, but that means I’ve had to fight hard to achieve the comfortable life I lead today.

‘I’ve got a proven track record behind me and if the previous five years are anything to go by, the next five are going to be something special. Plus, owning a martial arts business means Lord Sugar can learn how to kick ass for free.’

AG Martial Arts runs classes at Buckland Community Centre, St James’s Church in Milton, the Church of teh Holy Spirit in Fawcett Road and at Crofton Community Centre in Stubbington.