Bestway Group is a British multinational conglomerate company based in London, United Kingdom. It has its operations in United Kingdom and Pakistan. The group owns the UK's second-largest wholesaler serving 125,000 independent retailers and caterers from 64 warehouses nationwide. They also run the UK's third-largest pharmacy chain, Well Pharmacy based in Manchester. They are also well known for owning the Best-one, Bargain Booze and Central Convenience stores. In Pakistan it is the largest shareholder of United Bank, while its subsidiary Bestway Cement is the largest cement-maker in Pakistan with a total capacity of more than 8 million tons per annum.
Business
Pharmacy
In July 2014 Bestway Group acquired the Co-operative Group's stores branded as The Co-operative Pharmacy, the UK's third largest pharmacy, for £620 million. They have since been rebranded as Well Pharmacy.
Cement
The Group set up its first cement plant in 1995 in Hattar in the KP Province of Pakistan, with an initial investment of US$120.0 million. The plant's initial capacity was 0.99 million tonnes per annum, this was enhanced to 1.17 million tonnes per annum at a cost of US$10 million in 2002. Bestway Group expanded its operations by setting up a 1.8 million tonnes per annum cement plant in Chakwal, Punjab Province, Pakistan, at a cost of US$180.0 million. Civil works for Bestway Chakwal-I were initiated in January 2005, the Kiln was fired in May 2006 and the plant went into production in June 2006. Though Bestway cement brought investment in Pakistan, the local people claim that Bestway Group did not fairly compensate the previous owners of the land. A case was brought against Bestway Group and is pending in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In May 2006 the Group announced plans for a second 1.8 million tonnes per annum capacity plant adjacent to its existing operations in Chakwal at a cost of US$150.0 million. To augment its presence in the cement industry, Bestway bid for 85.29% equity of Mustehkam Cement Limited. The Company's bid of approximately US$70.0 million was accepted in September 2005. The plant started production in December 2005 just one month after acquisition. In 2010 the production capacity was further enhanced to 1.1 million tonnes per annum at a total cost of US$70.0 million. Over the last few years, Bestway's cement capacity has increased from 1.1 million tonnes to 6.0 million tonnes per annum; Bestway Cement is the largest exporter of cement to Afghanistan.
Banking
In October 2002 Bestway Group successfully bid for a controlling share in United Bank Limited. This was a total investment of approximately US$210.0 million. The bank has transformed itself from a loss-making static public sector entity into a profitable dynamic private enterprise. Profit before tax has grown from US$48.0 million in December 2002 to US$206.5 million in December 2010. In 2005 for the third consecutive year the CFA Association of Pakistan conferred upon UBL's Investment Banking Group the ‘Largest Corporate Finance House’ award. In February 2005 UBL became the first bank in South Asia to launch the EMV enabled credit card. In June 2005 with the launch of ‘UBL Money’ a fixed instalment personal loan product, UBL became the only bank in Pakistan to launch a complete suite of consumer financing products. In August 2005 UBL became the first bank to achieve the ‘Authorised Derivatives Dealer’ status in Pakistan. As of December 2010 the bank's asset base had increased to US$8.5 billion, with UBL emerging as the second largest private bank in Pakistan. Today, UBL has over 1,300 branches in Pakistan; a significant presence throughout the Middle East; Subsidiaries in UK and Switzerland; a branch in New York and Representative Offices in Beijing and Kazakhstan. In 1987 the Bestway Group established the Bestway Foundation. Every year the Group contributes approximately 2.5% of its profit to the Foundation, which helps support charities and contributes to help the local community. In the last decade Bestway Foundation has invested in 35 inner city schools in as part of the Specialist Schools & Academies Program.
History
In 1976 Sir Anwar Pervez established Bestway's first wholesale warehouse in Acton, West London. This was followed by warehouses in Southall, Hackney, Park Royal before expansion around the country. In 2005, the Group acquired Batley's plc, and in 2010 purchased Bellevue and Martex. In April 2018, Bestway acquired the Bargain Booze and Wine Rack brands for £7m.
Awards and nominations
In January 2013, Bestway was nominated for the Business of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards. The company is a longtime supporter of the UK Conservative Party.
