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Bestway Wholesale has completed the purchase of Conviviality’s retail brands, in a deal closed at 11.56pm on Friday (6 April).
In the £7m deal, the wholesaler acquired the Bargain Booze, Wine Rack, Select Convenience and WS Retail chains, saving 2,000 jobs.
Matthew Callaghan, partner at PwC, said: “This deal safeguards the jobs of more than 2,000 employees, ensures franchisees have the ability to continue to trade and creates some much-needed stability for business customers and the sector in general.
“Alongside the sale of Conviviality’s Direct business earlier this week, the total number of staff whose jobs have been protected stands at more than 4,000.”
Zameer Choudrey, CEO of Bestway Group, said “We feel this acquisition represents a great fit for both Bestway Wholesale and Conviviality’s retail base. This deal provides much needed certainty to these stores and our priority will be to stabilise the supply of stock into these businesses. These retailers can get back to ‘business as usual’ with the confidence of having the support of the UK’s largest independent wholesaler”.
“We are also pleased that as a result of the deal we have been able to provide job security to over 2,300 colleagues, who have incredible expertise and experience that will truly be a great asset to our combined business. By stepping in we have also ensured the franchisee stores get the support they need and deserve to grow their businesses, as well as continuing to provide choice for shoppers on the high street.”
Conviviality issued a profit warning last month after discovering a tax bill of £30m that was due within a fortnight and which it was not expecting. The company then appointed PwC as administrators after it failed to secure the £125m funding it needed to recapitalise its brands.
Earlier in the week, C&C, owner of Magners cider, purchased Conviviality’s wholesale brands Matthew Clark and Bibendum.
