A Bradford food and property entrepreneur is succeeding in his bid to persuade busy business professionals to break the habit of a cold snack or sandwich lunch.

Asghar Ali, managing director of the Lahore cafe bar and deli in Great Horton Road, has launched an online ordering and delivery service for businesses around the city.

He is targeting firms and organisations needing to cater for important meetings by offering them something different from the usual cold snacks and platter of sandwiches.

His approach seems to be paying off as, without doing any marketing, the online operation has already achieved about 15 per cent of its sales targets.

Banks, professional firms and organisations including Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s hospital have used the food delivery service.

Asghar said: “Businesses in Bradford are very familiar with the need to provide a high-quality product or service, yet when it comes to catering for a board meeting or important client presentation, so many companies needlessly satisfy themselves with the formulaic menu of snacks and sandwiches.

“That’s largely because the perception of what’s on offer is limited to the local delivery van or Marks & Spencer food hall.

“At Lahore we are providing the antidote to this mentality by delivering fresh grilled food and curry classics to home-made English desserts. We saw potential in this market and it is going down extremely well even without any serious marketing.”

The delivery business is focusing on a four-mile radius around Bradford but if it takes off Asghar plans to establish small preparation units away from the Lahore base to extend its range.

The overall success of the Lahore food empire, which was launched in 2002 as a traditional curry house and has since seen the addition of a cafe and deli-bar, means he is searching for a site to set up a central food preparation operation to meet growing demand.

He said: “At present we can cope from our Lahore kitchen but with the business continuing to grow we will need a bigger central production unit in the city.”

Since its launch the Lahore business has grown from four people to employing 40 staff.

Asghar said: “Since our humble beginnings in 2002, Lahore has consistently proven hugely popular with the city’s student and local population.

“Complementing our successful ‘east meets west’ menu and the freshness of food we provide, the launch of a highly-efficient online ordering mechanism reaffirms our commitment to customers by ensuring a speedy and more accurate service.

“In the modern world of food retailing, it is developments like this that help to maintain brand loyalty, something we are clearly focused on for the future.”