Bestway’s Charity Race Day returns to Royal Ascot after hiatus

Last Friday (17) saw the return to Royal Ascot of one of its longest and most loyal celebrants – Bestway Wholesale, whose Charity Race Day event, including a lunch attended by almost 800 people, has been an event of the week for 25 years.

This year's Charity Race Day marked the return to normality after several years of interruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic:

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"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," said Bestway Wholesale MD, Dawood Pervez, in his speech to the gathering of very many friends and colleagues from across the industry.

The Charity Race Day was marked by a heatwave and glorious sunshine (and also, thankfully, by a cooling breeze) that added to the great sense of occasion and delight, and the fresh realisation that Royal Ascot remains one of the highlights of the British social calendar, with top hats and tails, feathery fascinators and fine summer dresses – and the perfect excuse for a flutter.

Barnardo’s CEO Lynn Perry MBE

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 that, “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 Bestway's Charity Race Day will amount to approximately £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.

In the presence of the Rt Hon. Brendan Lewis, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and The Hon. Paul Scully, Minister for London, Bestway Group CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey delivered his customary good-humoured and enlightening speech, in which he revealed that, "Despite the macro challenges, the Group increased its turnover to £4.3bn and achieved a profit before tax of £334m for the year ended 30th June 2021."

Lord 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, Lord Choudrey cited 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 Asia Money.

He also revealed Bestway's steps towards sustainability and green energy, revealing that, "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."

Lord Choudrey said that the solar generation project is the largest of its kind in the region – the equivalent to planting 4.5 million trees.

He was followed onto the podium by Dawood Pervez, who reflected on what had occurred and changed since last they had foregathered at Royal Ascot for Bestway's Charity Race Day.

"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," he said.

"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 on-trade 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."

Among the finery, the bright fluttering banners under the sun, and the untrammelled pleasure of a classic day out, it was difficult to disagree with him, although at the close of his speech, Lord Choudrey had announced some shocking news that perhaps we can all sympathise with:

"If you don't already know, I was robbed at the petrol station earlier this morning," he revealed.

"I’m ok, I was just a bit shaken. After my hands stopped trembling, I managed to call the police.

"They were quick to respond and calmed me down. However, sadly, my money is gone. Keen to understand what had happened, the police asked me if I knew who did it.

"I told them, 'Yes, it was pump number 4.'"

Until next year.