Immigration A Bad Thing? Ten Iconic British Businesses Founded By People Born Abroad

What Have Immigrants Ever Done For Us?
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David Cameron came under fire on Wednesday for announcing a number of immigration curbs in the Queen's Speech.

A leading UK economist warned it made a mockery of the UK's "open for business" motto.

Perhaps the prime minister would do well to look to history for a number of immigrant success stories that still resonate within our society and on our high streets today.

Mr Cameron, here are just a few entrepreneurial success stories that we simply wouldn't have had in this country without immigrants and immigration...

Without Immigration We Would Not Have...
Cheap Air Travel(01 of10)
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EasyJet founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was born in Greece.Number of employees: 8,446 (in 2012) (credit:Alamy)
Those Weirdly Sensual Adverts(02 of10)
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Michael Marks, a Belarusian Jew, came to the UK and teamed up with Thomas Spencer to create M&S.Number of employees: 81,223 (in 2012) (credit:Alamy)
That Little Bit Of Extra Help(03 of10)
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Tesco was founded by the son of a Polish immigrant, a certain Mr Jack Cohen.In 1919 he was selling surplus groceries from an East London stall.By 2012 Tesco was worth £24.4 billion.Number of employees: 290,000+ (credit:AP)
Victory Against Napoleon (04 of10)
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Nathan Mayer von Rothschild moved to England from Frankfurt.His London bank was a leading funder of the British government during the Napoleonic Wars. (credit:Alamy)
That Beer That Goes So Well With Curry (05 of10)
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Karan Faridoon Bilimoria, or Baron Bilimoria as he is more onomatopoeically known, was born in India before moving to the UK and founding Cobra beer in 1989.Number of employees: 200 (credit:Alamy)
The Scourge Phrase Of Anyone Who Works In The Service Industry(06 of10)
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Harry Gordon Selfridge moved to the UK from Wisconsin and founded the incredibly popular department store that bears his name.He is credited with coining the phrase: "The customer is always right."Number of employees: 3000 (credit:Alamy)
Everyone's Favourite Blackcurrant-Based Drink(07 of10)
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Half of the company that produce Ribena, GSK, was initially founded in the UK by American pharmacists Henry Wellcome and Silas Burroughs in 1888.They also produce a substantial amount of the drugs you'll find in your medicine cabinet. Number of employees: 97,389 (credit:Alamy)
A Lot Of Asset Management(08 of10)
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£236.5 billion worth in fact.Johann Heinrich Schröder was born in Germany before moving to the UK and founding Schroders in 1818.Number of employees: 3,012 (credit:Alamy)
Smartphones (well, they wouldn't be as good)(09 of10)
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Austrian-born Herman Hauser founded UK company Acorn Computers. In 1990, a joint venture between Acorn and Apple formed ARM Holdings.ARM are a behemoth in today's tech world so chances are your smartphone contains a CPU made by them.Number of employees: 2,000 (credit:Alamy)
As Much Advertising Everywhere(10 of10)
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Born in the UK to a Russian-Romanian Jewish family, Martin Sorrell took over shopping basket manufacturer WPP in 1985 and turned it into an advertising monolith. (credit:Alamy)