ONE of the largest family-owned businesses in the UK, the Bestway Group consists of the UK’s second largest food wholesaler, Bestway Wholesale, the UK’s second largest retail pharmacy chain, Well Pharmacy, Pakistan’s largest cement manufacturer, Bestway Cement and Pakistan’s third largest bank, United Bank Limited. Starting off as a chain of convenience stores in 1963, the conglomerate owned by the Pervez, Choudrey and Sheikh families today serves more than 12 million customers and employs over 28,000 individuals across the UK, Pakistan and the Middle East, with turnover in excess of £4.5 billion. Last April, the group expanded into pharmaceutical wholesaling through the acquisition of Asurex Limited and Lexon UK Holdings, which operate five depots in Redditch, Leeds, Durham, East Kilbride in Scotland and Dublin, serving 3,000 retail pharmacy customers across the UK and Eire. The acquisition also included Lexon’s Knights Pharmacy chain of 42 community pharmacies, further strengthening Well Pharmacy’s position across the Midlands, North west, and Northeast of England. Later in August, Well Pharmacy acquired 11 Lloyds Pharmacy branches in Scotland. The group has been steadily increasing its retail footprint with acquisitions, of Conviviality plc in 2018, owners of Bargain Booze, Wine Rack and Central Convenience symbol retail brands, and Costcutter Supermarkets Group in 2021. The acquisitions, along with its own best one symbol group, placed Bestway at the forefront of independent UK retail, creating a symbol, franchise, and company store retail estate incorporating nearly 3,800 stores. And, Bestway is now defining the future of convenience retail, unveiling new hybrid store concepts that bring together two much-loved retail brands. Following on the heels of launching the pioneering ‘Costcutter with a ‘Bargain Booze store’ model in 2022, the entrepreneurial team at Bestway Retail has opened its first ‘Costcutter with a Wine Rack store’ in December last year. The new company-owned