22nd February 2017
Figures released in The Big 30 Wholesalers report in The Grocer magazine, show that Booker has a turnover of £4.99bn, ahead of Palmer & Harvey (£4.44bn), Brakes (£3.09bn), Bidvest Foodservice (£2.52bn) and Bestway (£2.17bn). Booker is also, by a distance, the biggest wholesaler in terms of depots (197), staff employed (13,144) and profit (£150m, up 8.6% on the previous year).
There were two new entries on the list: Matthew Clark owner Conviviality (No.10), and Wing Yip, the oriental foods specialist (No. 30). Conviviality also showed the biggest rise in turnover – up 137%. Spar wholesaler Appleby Westard (No.26) saw turnover rise by almost 30%. Landmark was the best-performing wholesale group.
Across the top 30, profits were down 4.7% on last year, with Bestway and HT & Co (Drinks) hit hardest, down 55% and 88% respectively. However, a number of wholesalers in the list posted huge profit rises – among them Bidvest (up 68%), household and personal care specialist DCS Group (up 98%), Spar wholesaler James Hall (up 56%) and butchery specialist Fairfax Meadow (up 63.7%). Average margin was 1.5%, with Wing Yip (4.6%) and JJ Food Service (5.2%) having the highest margins.