Parisa's founder

Haghighi is dead by Mike Bennett Former colleagues and business associates have been stunned by the sudden death of Parisa Bars founder Nader Haghighi at the age of 43. Iranian-born Haghighi was one of the most controversial and contradictory figures in the industry. Ironically, he died on the same day that one of his former businesses, off-licence chain Cellar 5, was placed into the hands of receivers Grant Thornton. Haghighi had no apparent history of major health problems and is believed to have suffered a heart attack. Parisa Bars, named after his daughter, emerged directly from the Cellar 5 subsidiary he'd bought for £60m from the break-up of the Greenalls retail arm in 1997. He broke the usual rules by deciding to diversify away from take home and turn some of the sites into style bars, with some incorporating a micro-brewery. Haghighi had exited by the time the insufficiently-capitalised Parisa was sold to SFI Group for £14m in 2001. He remained a shareholder in SFI, however, and was linked briefly to a possible buy-out of the beleaguered high-street operator when it succumbed to serious financial problems just weeks ago. SFI chief executive Andrew Latham said: "Obviously I'm extremely sad to hear the news. I'm very sorry for his family and send them my condolences." Haghighi revealed an entrepreneurial talent at an early age, having sold cigarettes on the streets in his home land when he was just nine years old. Speaking no English, he nevertheless moved to the UK just after his father died, and worked his way up from a part-time job in Pizzaland to become operations director of Thresher off-licences. He joined Greenalls' off-licence division in 1994. Nigel Huddleston, former editor of the Morning Advertiser's sister publication OLN, knew Haghighi well. Said Huddleston: "His management style incorporated a large dollop of dictatorship, but in the early days it meant promises to bring vigour and creativity to the take-home drinks market were quickly realised. "His favourirte word was "innovation" and even though many of his innovations may now seem dated, they were a welcome kick up the backside for an industry low on ideas." Haghighi himself effectively penned his own testimonial two years ago. "Retailing is in my blood and I am very proud of what I have achieved," he said. "I suppose you could call me a natural-born retailer.