A millionaire director of Glasgow’s Sub Club has come under fire for posting about his lavish style just a day before asking the public for money to save the venue.
Usman Khushi has been slammed for posting a picture of a private jet to his Instagram while asking punters for £90,000 in funds to keep the underground venue 'alive' amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a social media post, the director can be seen wishing happy birthday to DJ pal Peggy Gou while boasting about partying in Berlin.
The image tagged jet company smartaviation.co.uk and referred to the trip as a "much needed refresh" before it was subsequently deleted.
Mr Khushi then posted an appeal for donations of tens of thousands of pounds to Sub Club a day later.
He stated that the Glasgow club is at risk of ‘permanent closure’ due to complications from the virus crisis.
In 2017, the Khushi family made the Sunday Times Rich List, having been valued at around £90m.
Usman along with other family members, Afzal and Akmal Khushi, is also listed as a director of successful outdoor clothing company, Trespass who turned over more than £100m last year.
The crowdfunding campaign set a target of £90,000, which would be used to keep the business “ticking over” until their hopeful December reopening date.
The target was smashed in a matter of hours before it was later increased to £150,000.
Sub Club has now raised more than £174,000 in just over 24 hours since the ‘Save Our Sub’ campaign was posted online.
It is understood that Scots pop sensation Calvin Harris also donated £20,000 to the campaign under his real name of Adam Wiles.
Some angered donators are now demanding their money back in light of the revelations on social media.
One person wrote: “I want my tenner back.”
Another said: “This isn’t good at all. I donated £20.”
The underground nightclub, which has been regarded as one of the best in the world, has reportedly suffered a number of financial blows in addition to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bosses say they shelled out £45,000 on expenses to protect the club from potential noise complaints coming from a proposed hotel development due to be built next door.
They also accused the UK Government of falling “woefully short” after they were rejected from the Job Retention Scheme.
It is claimed that the club did not meet the eligibility criteria as its payroll information was uploaded one day late.
Sub Club continued to pay staff 80 per cent of its wages in hope that it would get a rebate of £31,764 as part of the Government scheme.
All of the club’s workers have now been placed on unpaid leave as the owners are no longer able to foot the bill.
Responding to the online criticism, Usman Khushi said: “I took on a minority stake in the Sub Club last year because it became available out of a need for support and funding which I could provide at that time.
"I’ve never made a penny out of the club and never will - I’ve only put money in.
"I don’t have day to day to day involvement other than as an unpaid advisor to Mike and Barry who run the club and are pulling together herculean effort to ensure it comes out the other end of this crisis."
He added: "I was a guest on a trip to Berlin last weekend where we travelled on a private plane and I shared this on my Instagram. I don’t own a plane, and didn’t charter one personally, but in hindsight I can understand why these posts taken together, out of context, have caused some confusion and are insensitive, which I regret. We live and learn.”
