12 October 2012
Bestway's Batleys invest in Drinks Express
Since Batleys Wholesale took over Drinks Direct, when it acquired its Scottish Bellevue Wholesale business in 2010, the business has grown and developed to greater levels than the company thought possible and as a result additional investment has been agreed by the Bestway board.
The delivered service, has been extended to Glasgow and the whole of Scotland and, in addition, the company operation will extend outside of its traditional Scottish base to now include England, with an operation in the Brighton area, in Sussex, from the end of October, and a launch in the Newcastle region, in November, in time for the peak Christmas business. Other launches, in various conurbations across England and Wales, will also be added and announced later.
In addition the whole of the exclusive delivered drinks division, previously known as Drinks Direct, is now being rebranded as Drinks Express, with a new look logo and identity.
Martin Race, operations director for Batleys in Scotland and the rest of the UK said, " We are delighted with the way the dedicated delivered wholesale division has grown and, as a result, have announced this big investment in the future, which will see us, in time, providing a new, highly competitive, service for the Bestway Group foodservice's side across the whole of the UK."
The Drinks Express (formerly Direct) business was originally launched in 1991 and provides a dedicated and exclusive delivered service to the to-trade foodservice industry, especially local restaurants, clubs and bars. It boasts over 1000 customers, currently in Scotland, and will see this base dramatically increase as the company grows across England and Wales. The company carries a range of over 5000 products.
Batleys is part of the Bestway Wholesale Group of companies.