Conviviality brands Bargain Booze and Wine Rack have been sold to food wholesaler Bestway for £7m, saving 2,000 jobs.
The retail division of Conviviality has been acquired by grocery wholesaler in a pre-pack administration process, overseen by PwC, which allows the buyer to cherry pick a collapsed company’s best assets at a bargain price.
Conviviality’s retail arm operates more than 800 stores under brands including chains Select Convenience and Central Convenience, many of which are run by independent franchisees.
Bestway, which was founded and is chaired by the billionaire Sir Anwar Pervez, is one of Britain’s largest food wholesalers serving thousands of retailers; it also owns the Well pharmacy chain, which it bought from the Co-op in 2014.
Conviviality announced its intention to appoint administrators last week after a string of profit warnings and the discovery of a £30m tax bill, putting more than 2,600 jobs at risk.
Last Wednesday, Conviviality's wholesale division of Conviviality was bought by C&C, the owner of Magners cider.