Wholesale group Bestway further increases stake in Sainsbury’s

The billionaire wholesaler tycoons behind Bestway have increased their stake further in supermarket giant Sainsbury’s.

New filings on Wednesday morning showed that Bestway increased its stake the UK’s second largest grocery chain to 4.47%.

Shares in Sainsbury’s moved higher again after Bestway Group purchased 20 million more shares in the listed retailer, understood to be worth around £60 million.

It came less than a week after the Costcutter owner first revealed it had built up an almost 3.5% stake in Sainsbury’s.

Bestway paid roughly £200 million for the original stake, making it the sixth-largest investor in the company.

On Friday, the convenience store and cash-and-carry business described the move as an “investment” and not part of plans for a takeover of Sainsbury’s.

However, it did say at the time that it may look to further share purchases on Sainsbury’s subject to availability and price.

Bestway, which said it is the seventh largest family-owned firm in the UK with a turnover of around £4.5 billion, was founded by Pakistani-born Sir Anwar Pervez in 1976.

The group has expanded through a number of major acquisitions including Costcutter and the Well Pharmacy group.

Last month, Sainsbury’s revealed it saw record sales over Christmas as shoppers treated themselves at home over the festive period and during the Fifa World Cup.