A founding shareholder and former chairman of British retail giant N Brown Group has passed away at the age of 93.
Tributes have flooded in for Iran-born Lord David Alliance CBE, who started his career in the bazaars of the Asian country before moving to Manchester aged 18.
The Alliance Family snapped up N Brown Group in 1968 and Lord David served as the Manchester-based eCommerce firm’s chairman.
He was on the company’s board of directors for over half a century before it was taken private in 2025.
Alliance also served as chairman of European textile giant Coats Viyella and was knighted in 1989 before being created a life peer as Baron Alliance of Manchester in the County of Greater Manchester in 2004.
He sat on the Liberal Democrat benches until his retirement on 21 March 2025.
At one point, Alliance’s businesses, which included his mail-order company N Brown Group, JD Williams and Jacamo employed more than 80,000 people.
A business mogul and well-known philanthropist, he was at the forefront of successful efforts to rescue Ethiopian Jews and send them to Israel after direct negotiations with then-Ethopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.
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Due to his significant influence, the Manchester Business School was renamed the Alliance Manchester Business School in 2015, whilst an Iranian studies centre at Tel Aviv University is named after the now-deceased businessman.
In an N Brown Group statement, the company’s executive chair and CEO, Steve Johnson, said: “Without Lord Alliance there would be no N Brown, an employer of around 1,500 people nationwide.
“Lord Alliance had a career defined by entrepreneurship, public service and philanthropy, and was a titan of British retail. He was a source of great wisdom for me and for so many of us at N Brown and it was a privilege to have worked with him.
“We will all miss him and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his wife, Lady Homa Alliance; his son Joshua Alliance, a director of the company; and their wider family.
“The board and all colleagues of N Brown wish to express their gratitude for Lord Alliance’s extraordinary contributions to the company. He will be remembered with great respect and admiration.”
Professor Ken McPhail, head of Alliance Manchester Business School, added: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lord David Alliance. His extraordinary generosity and support have shaped our School and left an enduring legacy across the University.
“On behalf of the entire University community, I extend our heartfelt condolences to Lord Alliance’s family and all who knew him. He will be remembered not only for his extraordinary philanthropy, but for his entrepreneurial spirit – one that continues to inspire and shape the ethos of Alliance Manchester Business School.”
Alliance’s funeral will take place in Israel.