Bestway Wholesale
{{Short description|British food wholesale operator}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bestway Wholesale Holdings Limited
| type = Subsidiary
Private Limited Company
| traded_as =
| logo =
| logo_size = 150px
| caption =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1976}}
| defunct =
| location = England, UK
| key_people = Younus Sheikh (Chairman)
Dawood Pervez (Managing Director)
| brands = Best-one
Costcutter
Bargain Booze
Wine Rack
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| num_employees =
| parent = Bestway Group
| industry = Retail catering
| products = Cash and carry depots
Symbol group outlets
| subsid =
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.bestwaywholesale.co.uk}}
}}
Bestway Wholesale Holdings Limited is a British food and drink wholesale business, founded in 1976 by Sir Anwar Pervez.
The business also owns a number of symbol retail identities, including Best-one, Costcutter, Bargain Booze and Wine Rack.
History
File:Bestway Cash and Carry, Beddington - geograph.org.uk - 2674955.jpg
File:Bestway, Hither Green - geograph.org.uk - 2757952.jpg
File:Bestway cash & carry, Liverpool.JPG
In 1976 Sir Anwar Pervez established Bestway Wholesale's first wholesale warehouse in Acton, West London. This was followed by warehouses in Southall (1981), Hackney (1983), Park Royal (1984) before expansion around the country.
Bestway Wholesale also acquired Bashin Cash & Carry in 1984, Crown Crest Limited in 1987 and Link Cash & Carry in 1988.{{cite web|url=https://www.pharmacy.biz/the-big-interview-zameer-choudrey/|title=The Big Interview: Zameer Choudrey|first=Neil|last=Trainis|date=14 October 2015|website=pharmacy.biz|access-date=30 January 2019}}
File:Batleys Cash ^ Carry Cardiff Depot - geograph.org.uk - 2203953.jpg
File:Batleys Cash ^ Carry - geograph.org.uk - 3350857.jpg
File:Batleys Wholesale, Skelton Grange Road - geograph.org.uk - 5291025.jpg
In January 2005 Bestway Group Chief Executive Zameer Choudrey CBE led the acquisition of Batleys plc for £100 million.{{cite news |author=Finance |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2904614/Bestway-pays-100m-cash-to-carry-off-rival-chain.html |title=Bestway pays £100m cash to carry off rival chain |publisher=Telegraph |date= 30 January 2005|access-date=2015-12-14}} Batleys contributed towards expanding the Group's market share by 50%. An Office of Fair Trading report published soon after the acquisition stated that the merged entity was the fourth largest national grocery wholesaler in the UK, with a 9.9% share of supply in grocery wholesaling as a whole and 15.9% share of supply in cash & carry alone.{{cite web|url=http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/mergers/decisions/2005/bestway|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140402163222/http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/mergers/decisions/2005/bestway|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2014|title=Completed acquisition by Bestway (Holdings) Limited of Batleys Limited|first=Mediasurface|last=Administrator|date=9 March 2010|website=The Office of Fair Trading|access-date=30 January 2019}}
In addition to organic growth over the years, Bestway Wholesale acquired Bellevue Cash & Carry's two warehouses in Edinburgh and Stirling in June 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org/news/article-info/505/bestway-takes-over-bellevue.aspx |title=Bestway Takes Over Bellevue |publisher=Scotland Food and Drink |date=2010-06-22 |access-date=2015-12-14}}{{cite web|author=Peter Cripps |url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/bestway-snaps-up-scots-wholesaler-bellevue/210339.article |title=Bestway snaps up Scots wholesaler Bellevue |website=Thegrocer.co.uk |date=2010-06-21 |access-date=2015-12-14}} In November 2010 the Group went on to acquire the Martex Group{{cite web|author=Beth Brooks |url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/bellevue-and-martex-swell-bestways-sales/221937.article |title=Bellevue and Martex swell Bestway's sales |website=Thegrocer.co.uk |date=2011-10-22 |access-date=2015-12-14}} of three cash & carry warehouses and its food service operation from C J Lang.
In April 2014, the Group acquired Glasgow-based wholesaler Sher Brothers{{cite web|author=Beth Brooks |url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/stores/property-and-planning/how-bestway-transformed-its-glasgow-depot-in-pictures/370183.article |title=How Bestway transformed its Glasgow depot: in pictures |website=Thegrocer.co.uk |date=2014-08-01 |access-date=2015-12-14}} and merged Sher Brothers into the Batleys brand.{{cite web|author=Beth Brooks |url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/bestway-buys-glasgow-wholesaler-sher-bros/356261.article |title=Bestway buys Glasgow wholesaler Sher Bros |website=Thegrocer.co.uk |date=2014-04-04 |access-date=2015-12-14}}
In April 2018, the company purchased the assets and brands of Conviviality Retail from administrators PwC for £7.25m. PwC partner Matthew Callaghan said: ‘This deal safeguards the jobs of more than 2,000 employees.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/04/06/bestway-primed-save-2000-jobswith-deal-conviviality-retail-arm/|title=Bestway primed to save 2,000 more jobs with deal for Conviviality retail arm|first=Bradley|last=Gerrard|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=6 April 2018|access-date=30 January 2019|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}
In June 2018, the company acquired two Blakemore Wholesale's warehouses in Cardiff and Walsall.{{cite web |url=https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/channels/wholesalers/bestway-picks-up-blakemore-depots-in-cardiff-and-walsall/568294.article |title=Bestway picks up Blakemore depots in Cardiff and Walsall |first=Emily |last=Bright |date=15 Jun 2018 |website=TheGrocer.co.uk |access-date=30 January 2019}}
In December 2020, the company acquired symbol operator Costcutter Supermarkets Group for an undisclosed fee from Bibby Line Group. The Costcutter operations initially become part of Bestway's retail arm. This involved the integration of around 1,500 stores branded Costcutter, Mace, Supershop, Kwiksave and Simply Fresh, along with 20 Costcutter and four Co-op franchise stores.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/mergers-and-acquisitions/bestway-snaps-up-costcutter-for-undisclosed-fee/651624.article|title = Bestway snaps up Costcutter for undisclosed fee}}
In January 2021, Bestway Wholesale introduced two new symbol group off-licence brands, Tippl and BB's.{{cite web|url=https://drinksretailingnews.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/20220/Bestway_s_Tippl_and_BB_s_concepts%3A_Braving_a_new_retail_approach.html|title=Bestway's Tippl and BB's concepts: Braving a new retail approach|first=Sonya|last=Hook|date=22 January 2021|website=Drinks Retailing|access-date=7 October 2023}}
In February 2022, Bestway Wholesale Managing Director Dawood Pervez indicated that it was considering consolidating all its symbol groups under four brands: Best-one, Costcutter, Bargain Booze and Wine Rack.{{cite web|url=https://cashandcarrymanagement.co.uk/dawood-pervez-determining-the-bestway-forward/|title=Dawood Pervez: determining the Bestway forward|date=8 February 2022|website=Cash & Carry Management|access-date=9 October 2023}} This was confirmed in December 2022.{{cite web|url=https://www.betterretailing.com/symbol-group-news/bargain-booze-news/bestway-to-consolidate-symbol-portfolio-into-costcutter-best-one-bargain-booze-and-wine-rack/|title=Bestway to consolidate symbol portfolio into Costcutter, Best-one, Bargain Booze and Wine Rack|first=Alex|last=Yau|date=6 December 2022|website=Better Retailing|access-date=7 October 2023}}
In August 2023, Bestway Wholesale re-branded the 22 Batleys sites under its own name.{{cite web|url=https://www.betterretailing.com/wholesale-news/bestway-wholesale-news/batleys-depots-rebranded-to-bestway/|title=Batleys depots rebranded to Bestway|first=Alex|last=Yau|date=30 August 2023|website=Better Retailing|access-date=7 October 2023}}
Operations
=Current operations=
Bestway Wholesale is the UK's second largest food wholesaler. It consists of several divisions each specialising in different areas of the wholesale market in the United Kingdom and also operates in the UK retail sector through a number of different branded symbol franchise outlets:
| class="wikitable"
|+Current operations of Bestway Wholesale Holdings Limited !Name !Description !Ownership |
| Bargain Booze
|A symbol group of independent off-licence stores in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| BB Foodservice
|A food catering delivery service in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| Best-one
|A symbol group of independent convenience stores in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| Bestpets
|A trade-only supplier of pet products in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| Bestway Export
|A United Kingdom wholesaler of British products around the world. |100% |
| Bestway Vans Direct
|A distribution network delivery service in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| Bestway Wholesale
|A cash and carry and delivery company in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| Costcutter
|A symbol group of independent convenience stores in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| SimplyFresh
|A symbol group of independent convenience stores in the United Kingdom. |19.5% |
| Wine Rack
|A symbol group of independent off-licence stores in the United Kingdom. |100% |
| Xtra Local
|A depot-run promotional club in the United Kingdom. |100% |
=Former operations=
| class="wikitable"
|+Former operations of Bestway Wholesale Holdings Limited !Name !Description !Ownership |
| Batleys
|A defunct cash and carry and delivery company in the United Kingdom. Re-branded as Bestway Wholesale in 2023. |100% |
| BB's
|A defunct symbol group of independent off-licence stores in the United Kingdom. Re-branded as Bargain Booze in 2022. |100% |
| Central Convenience Stores
|A defunct symbol group of independent convenience stores in the United Kingdom. Re-branded as either Best-one or Costcutter in 2022. |100% |
| Kwik Save
|A defunct symbol group of independent convenience stores in the United Kingdom. Re-branded as either Best-one or Costcutter in 2022. |100% |
| Mace
|A defunct symbol group of independent convenience stores in Great Britain. Re-branded as Costcutter in 2025. |100% |
| Select Convenience
|A defunct symbol group of independent convenience stores in the United Kingdom. Re-branded as either Best-one or Costcutter in 2022. |100% |
| Supershop (Great Britain)
|A defunct symbol group of independent convenience stores in Great Britain. Re-branded as Costcutter in 2022. |100% |
| Supershop (Northern Ireland)
|A symbol group of independent convenience stores in Northern Ireland. Re-branded as Costcutter in 2025. |100% |
| Tippl
|A defunct symbol group of independent off-licence stores in the United Kingdom. Re-branded as Wine Rack in 2022. |100% |
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.bestwaywholesale.co.uk}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Wholesalers of the United Kingdom
Category:Retail companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Retail companies established in 1976
Category:Food and drink companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Supermarkets of the United Kingdom
Category:1976 establishments in the United Kingdom