Bestway
Bestway are a wholesale cash and carry business and pharmacy company based in the UK, founded by Anwar Pervez.
History
The cash and carry side of Bestway started when Pervez opened a corner shop in Bradford in 1963. He soon moved into wholesale, realising it was more lucrative.
In 1999, Bestway 'bought the Co-op's pharmacy business from under the noses of Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy for £620million', making it the UK's thirds biggest pharmacy group.
In 2004, despite having a turnover of £1.1billion, Bestway bought rival cash and carry Batleys for £100million, turning the company into the second biggest wholesaler.
As of 2014, it has a turnover of £2.4billion.[1]
HSBC 2015 tax avoidance scandal
In the wake of the HSBC Swiss tax avoidance scandal, it was revealed that Bestway owner Sir Anwar Pervez and every other director on the companies eight-member board were linked with Swiss accounts. Pervez said HM Revenue and Customs was 'aware of these accounts and trusts and all directors were tax compliant'.[2]
Political Donations
Recorded by the Electoral Commission:
| Date | Name of donor | Amount | Donated to | Subsidiary (parties only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/02/2005 | Bestway Limited, 2 Abbey Road | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Batley and Spen CLP |
| 12/01/2005 | Bestway Cash and Carry Limited, 2 Abbey Road | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Brent East Clp |
| 12/04/2005 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, Bestway Cash & Carry Limited | £2,000.00 | Conservative Party | Banbury |
| 12/04/2005 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, Bestway Cash & Carry Limited | £4,851.55 | Conservative Party | Dewsbury |
| 30/03/2006 | Bestway Cash and Carry Ltd, Bestway Cash and Carry Ltd | £3,000.00 | The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP | |
| 30/03/2006 | Bestway Cash and Carry, Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd | £3,000.00 | Mr Paul Goodman | |
| 14/03/2006 | Bestway Cash and Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £50,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 29/05/2007 | Bestway Northern Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £10,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 29/05/2007 | Bestway Cash & Carry Limited, 2 Abbey Road | £15,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 18/01/2008 | Bestways PLC, Abbey Road | £10,000.00 | Mr Shahid Malik MP | |
| 31/10/2008 | Bestway Cash & Carry Limited, 2 Abbey Road | £2,000.00 | Conservative Party | Banbury |
| 09/11/2008 | Bestway Holding Ltd, Abbey Rad | £6,000.00 | Liberal Democrats | Borough of Brent |
| 10/06/2009 | Bestway (Holdings) Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £2,647.98 | Ms Sarah Teather MP | |
| 25/06/2009 | Bestway Cash & Carry Limited, 2 Abbey Road | £5,000.00 | Conservative Party | Beaconsfield |
| 06/07/2009 | Bestways Cash & Carry Limited, 2 ABBEY ROAD | £10,000.00 | Labour Party | Bolton South East CLP |
| 24/02/2010 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £50,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 10/11/2010 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £4,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 02/03/2011 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £50,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 18/05/2011 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £7,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 03/11/2011 | Bestway (Northern) Limited, 2 Abbey Road | £5,000.00 | Liberal Democrats | Borough of Brent |
| 11/11/2011 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £9,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 02/03/2012 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £4,500.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 02/03/2012 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £57,450.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 28/06/2012 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £10,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 09/08/2012 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £5,000.00 | Conservative Party | Gillingham and Rainham |
| 22/03/2013 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £59,000.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 30/08/2013 | Bestway Northern Ltd, Bestway Northern Ltd | £10,000.00 | Conservative Friends of Pakistan | |
| 05/07/2013 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £7,500.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 31/03/2014 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £57,500.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
| 03/07/2014 | Bestway Cash & Carry Ltd, 2 Abbey Road | £7,500.00 | Conservative Party | Central Party |
Notes
- ↑ Dominic Midgley Anwar Pervez: The Billionaire cash and carry King, Express, 21 July 2014, accessed 16 February 2015
- ↑ David Leigh, James Ball, Juliette Garside and David Pegg HSBC files show Tories raised over £5m from HSBC Swiss account holders The Guardian, 11 February 2015, accessed 16 February 2015
- ↑ Electoral Commission, Donation Search, accessed 16 February 2015
