Jas and Jason Wouhra OBE, the brother and nephew of East End Foods founder Tony Deep Wouhra, have bought the two East End Foods cash & carries from East End Foods Ltd.
This follows the sale of East End Foods to Exponent Private Equity in September 2019.
Jason Wouhra is now the CEO of the newly formed company Lioncroft Wholesale, which is trading as East End Wholesale Stores.
East End Foods Ltd will continue its focus on growing the food business, while East End Wholesale Stores will focus on growing the two cash and carries at Aston and Smethwick.
Speaking exclusively to Asian Trader, Jason Wouhra commented: "It is good to be keeping at least part of the business in the family. I have worked in the cash & carry business since I was a child. I hope to grow the cash & carries, even without the ethnic foods business being attached to them."
Wouhra, who is a doctor of sciences with a business-related qualification and has an OBE for services to international trade, added: "I believe there is a bright future for the cash & carry sector. The characteristics of the business are changing, the methods of serving customers are changing. But there is still a healthy buzz around cash & carries. I don't agree that the business is dying out, which you often hear from the doom mongers."
Rohit Samani, Executive Chairman of East End Foods Ltd, commented: “We have a long-standing relationship with Jason and Jas and we look forward to continuing that relationship within the new organisation. The East End cash and carries will continue to stock the East End brand and both companies are fully committed to building our businesses on a mutual basis.”
