Bestway sees ‘reasons to be positive about the future’ as Charity Race Day returns
LAST Friday (17) saw the return to Royal Ascot of one of its longest and most loyal celebrants – Bestway Wholesale, whose Charity Race Day, including a lunch, was attended by almost 800 people.
This year’s event marked the return to normality after several years of interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic: Dawood Pervez, the managing director of Bestway Wholesale, said, “Whether through experiencing
personal loss, through isolating to protect those we love, through a meteoric shift in business operations – Covid has impacted on us all.”
The Charity Race Day has been held for 25 years and Bestway’s nominated charity this year was Barnardo’s, as it has been since 2008.
In her address, Barnardo’s CEO Lynn Perry MBE said, “We are delighted that Bestway has chosen to support Barnardo’s for the company’s annual Royal Ascot Charity Race Day.”
It is estimated that the money raised by the Bestway event will amount to about £100,000.
“Those attending this exciting event will help us provide vital services to children needing help with their mental health and emotional wellbeing or recovering from sexual abuse and to young people struggling to live independently after leaving the care system,” said Perry.
Brandon Lewis, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, and Paul Scully MP, the minister for London, were among the guests addressed by Bestway Group CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey.
“Despite the macro challenges, the group increased its turnover to £4.3 billion and achieved a profit before tax of £334 million for the year ended June 30, 2021,” he said.
Choudrey cited as highlights in the UK the acquisition of the Costcutter chain of convenience stores and the contribution to the vaccination campaign by Bestway’s Well Pharmacy group.
In Pakistan, he noted Bestway Cement’s ground-breaking of two new cement plants as a notable achievement, alongside Bestway Group’s United Bank Limited being voted Best Digital Bank by Asiamoney magazine.
He also revealed Bestway’s steps towards sustainability and green energy. “During the pandemic, we embarked on a 50MW pioneering solar energy project in Pakistan by utilising excess space at our cement plants. Today we are in the process of doubling our solar power generation capacity to 100 MW,” he said.
Choudrey added that the solar generation project was the largest of its kind in the region – it was the equivalent to planting 4.5 million trees, he said.
In his remarks, Pervez said, “Consumers have reconnected with their local stores during the pandemic. And with growing pressures on household disposable income, we can expect more shoppers to turn to their local stores to buy what they need when they need it.
“Our specialist pet wholesale business has cemented its leading position in the market, while our catering business has come roaring back with more opportunity to grow in the new landscape – for example, our ontrade business is currently nearly 30 per cent larger than it was in 2019. Our vans business continues to grow and provide a fantastically effective and efficient distribution model for brand owners. So, there are many reasons to be positive about the future,” Pervez noted.