Bestway Wholesale has agreed on a deal to buy the symbol group operator Costcutter from the Bibby Line Group for an undisclosed sum, marking a significant move in the independent convenience retail sector.
Bestway said the acquisition of the Costcutter Supermarkets Group (CSG), which will complete on approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), follows an improvement in the chain’s performance over the last couple of years. During the 12 months to 31 December 2019, CSG’s revenues rose by 10% to £426m with sales and profitability continuing to rise during 2020 as consumers increasingly shopped locally because of the pandemic.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, with CSG then becoming part of Bestway Wholesale’s retail division. Approximately 1,500 stores operating under the Costcutter, Mace, Supershop, Kwiksave, and Simply Fresh fascias, will join Bestway’s current host of retail brands – Bargain Booze, Best-One, Wine Rack, Select Convenience and Central Convenience. Bestway stated that it was committed to ensuring retailers “continue to enjoy all the benefits they currently enjoy with CSG”.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, CSG’s CEO of nine years, will be leaving the business following completion of the deal. Dawood Pervez will lead the business from his current role as Managing Director of Bestway Wholesale.
Pervez commented: “The acquisition of CSG by Bestway Wholesale enables us to further build on our solid foundations in independent retail, allowing us to expand on our already established, and highly respected, fascias and national network of stores. Clearly, there will be benefits of joining forces for our retailers, for shoppers, and for suppliers.”
The Bibby Line Group recently sold off its logistics operation to Menzies. Its CEO John Cresswell said: “Over the last two years, CSG has transformed itself into a profitable and much stronger business, and I’d like to thank the team for their unstinting commitment and passion for helping independent retailers thrive.
“We hope CSG will continue to prosper and grow as it becomes part of a larger business with deep retail expertise. This is also positive news for Bibby Line Group, completing the planned strategic realignment of our portfolio, further strengthening our Group balance sheet for future investment.”
Bestway stated that the existing CSG supply contract with Co-op/Nisa is not affected by the acquisition and Nisa will continue to supply Costcutter stores with the same range they have today, including the 2,000-strong Co-op own label offer.
The deal takes Bestway Wholesale’s annual turnover to almost £3bn, alongside a symbol, franchise, and company store retail estate of more than 3,795 stores (including 2,682 fascia and 195 company-owned).
