A Polish migrant whose first job in Britain was working unpaid as a London cycle courier now has a medical delivery business turning over £7million a year. Alex Landowski arrived 13 years ago with just his bicycle and £200.

At 24, he had no plan and found himself sleeping on the floor of his friend’s bedroom, in a tiny property that was home to 10 other migrants. Now his hi-tech firm, Medical Logistics – which recently launched a ground-breaking drone delivery scheme – is the capital’s only 24/7 dedicated medical courier service.

And he employs a team of 25 staff and more than 50 contractors. Alex, 37, moved to the UK hoping to make enough money to repay a debt from a failed business in Poland.

After weeks searching for a job, he finally found a role as a bike courier – but working for free. He recalls: “I was already low on my £200 and started to run out of money. I couldn’t keep cycling round London for no money, so I quit.

But those three weeks gave me an understanding of London – I could now tell people I had experience.

He says: “My former employer was small but very good, they had a good service level. And I was thinking, there was nobody providing dedicated medical couriers in London with that kind of service level. That was my plan.”

Securing a £50,000 investment from a friend, Alex started delivering to GPs and clinics himself.

And the success has given him the chance to take things to another level – using drones to deliver urgent blood supplies, medicine and lab samples.

Drones are a natural path forward – the tech can save lives, time and the environment. Delivering organs is not far off.

Alex now lives in the Cots­wolds with his wife and two kids and hopes to gain UK citizenship. And he is proud to have been able to create jobs, saying: “It’s my way of saying thank you for letting me in.

“The UK has always treated me good. Every time I tell this story, it has some positive impact.”

https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/i-came-london-poland-200-26909268