Costcutter owner Bestway takes near £200m stake in Sainsbury’s

Grocery wholesaler may look to make further market purchases of supermarket’s shares

Bestway, the owner of the Costcutter chain and is one of the UK’s largest grocery wholesalers, has taken a near £200m stake in Sainsbury’s and could seek to increase its stake further.

The privately owned Bestway, which also owns the UK’s third-largest pharmacy chain and 2,000 convenience stores under the Costcutter and Best-one brands, has bought almost 81m shares, giving it a 3.45% stake in the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain.