Our History
The Khan Group’s journey began in 2001, founded by twin brothers Ash and Arfat Khan. Working alongside their father in a humble retail corner shop, the brothers decided to venture into the burgeoning fast food sector. With limited resources, they constructed a modest 500 sq ft shed and embarked on their ambitious journey to become the largest ethnic food service wholesale business in the UK. And the rest, as they say, is history.
From these humble beginnings, the Khan brothers demonstrated remarkable determination, passion, and a high appetite for risk. Their unwavering commitment to their vision propelled them forward, regardless of the economic climate or the challenges they faced. This relentless drive was the major force behind their success.
As they grew, the brothers diversified their portfolio of businesses, strategically acquiring and developing properties to support their expansion. They adopted efficient capital allocation principles, making high returns on low invested capital. This strategic approach allowed them to maximize their resources and achieve sustainable growth.
The Khan Group’s history is a testament to the power of determination and passion. The brothers’ ability to navigate challenges and seize opportunities has been instrumental in their journey. Today, the Khan Group stands as a diversified business conglomerate, constantly looking for new acquisitions in the food service space, and continuing to build on the legacy of its founders.
Timeline
Started Wholesaling94 Elm Street, Stoke on Trent
Ash and Arfat Khan constructed a 500 SQFT garden shed at the rear of their father's corner store. Born and raised in a retail environment, the brothers were eager to supply into the growing fast food sector, with limited resource and capital, the brothers decided to erect a wooden garden shed to store the products that they bought from wholesalers to then distribute to the fast food trade within Staffordshire.
Growth1a Nevada Lane, Burslem
Following the early success of their wholesale business, the brothers decided to buy a small warehouse for the additional storage of products that they would buy in bulk. In a local auction the brothers purchased a 1000 SQFT freehold warehouse, they recall the excitement of having their first fork lift truck to then be able to buy in pallet quantities and store in bulk.
Growth280 Waterloo Road, Burslem
To service the continuous growth of the business, another freehold property was purchased in the heart of Burslem, Stoke On Trent. The site was perfect for the growth of the distribution business as well establishing a retail supermarket as it had 2 detached warehouses and ample carpark located on the main A53. Continued to grow the fast food distribution business.
Petroleum RetailWaterloo Road, Burslem
Whilst the distribution business was in growth at the new site, an opportunity to acquire a freehold Total petrol station was presented, this was acquired and consolidated within the business operations, the petrol station was located on the A53 and only yards away from the distribution business. The group now had TO in excess of £7m.
Retail Supermarket280 Waterloo Road, Burslem
As the fast food distribution business was rapidly growing, we decided to utilize the second warehouse on the site and converted it into the largest ethnic retail supermarket in Stoke-on-Trent, Freshways opened on 09/11/2009
AcquisitionStoke On Trent
In August 2011 we acquired the customer base of a failing fast food distribution business from a competitor and integrated the operations and business processes, group TO was now in excess of £14m.
Freshways Cash and Carry HanleyStoke On Trent
A month later we converted the acquired premises into a fast food cash and carry, serving the local fast food trade on a cash and carry business model
Freshways Cash & CarryStoke-on-Trent
The cash and carry was relocated to a to a larger freehold site, enabling us to expand the range and improve our service and availability
Acquisition Stoke-on-Trent
Acquired Caterchoice UK Ltd, the largest and oldest fast food distributor in Staffordshire as part of a strategic acquisition, providing the owners with a retirement and exit plan from their business. The business and its operations were consolidated and TO reached in excess of £22m
Retail SupermarketStoke-on-Trent
Due to the success of our Supermarket division, we were in a position to expand and open our second retail supermarket in Stoke-on-Trent
AcquisitionCo-Durham
With all ventures in growth, an opportunity arose to acquire a group of three freehold Jet filling stations from Rontec, this expanded our current portfolio and gave us wider coverage across Stoke-on Trent.
Acquired New SiteStoke-on-Trent
To ensure we capitalized on our business potential and to create sustainable growth, our real estate division acquired a 3 acre site in Fenton to convert into a state of the art distribution center in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent.
Move to New SiteStoke-on-Trent
Moved into our purpose built 80,000 Sqft distribution center in Stoke-on-Trent, which provided further growth capability and potential to the distribution business. This enabled us to increase our distribution network and our coverage now vastly increased. Business TO was now in excess of £26m.
DisposalStoke-on-Trent
Disposed of the retail supermarket division to the YAYLA Group, as part of a divestment strategy which now allowed us to focus on the distribution business, driving sustainability and profit related growth.
Freshways Cash & CarryDerby
Linking the distribution business with our Freshways brand enabled us to drive growth across the entire sector, being the first fast food distributor to align convenience with a delivery service. We opened our second Freshways site in Derby in January 2018.
DisposalStoke-on-Trent
Disposal of the group of 4 freehold petrol stations to the Apple Green Group, further allowing us to concentrate on the distribution business.
GBSPakistan
Established and commissioned a Global Business Support Centre in Pakistan. This provided the group with additional central administration support alongside growing a platform to consolidate all back end functions and processes.
Acquired New SitePakistan
To expand our Global presence, the business acquired a three acre site in Pakistan and commenced the construction of a state-of-the-art, purpose built, ambient, chilled and frozen distribution center for the Pakistan market, operating in the HoReCa sector.
Launched Dubai OfficeDAMAC Smart Heights, Dubai
Established and commissioned a Global Business Support Centre in Dubai, located in the building of Damac Smart Heights. This provided the group with expanding its reach into the MENA region and securing their presence into prominent regions along the trade route.
Freshways Cash & CarryCoventry
To expand on the success of the Freshways brand, the business purchased a third site in Coventry. The West Midlands region was proving to be a valuable location for the distribution element of the business and this gave us the opportunity to drive growth through our convenient cash & carry sector.
AcquisitionQuayside - Newcastle Upon Tyne
The opportunity arose to purchase a well-established, 40 year old retail wholesaler who had built up a fantastic reputation over the years. Quayside Wholesale operates out of a 60k sqft DC and delivers across the northern half of the United Kingdom, thus linking the PFG division geographically whilst allowing the business to expand on its range, coverage and overall efficiency.
AcquisitionQuayside - Newcastle Upon Tyne
The opportunity arose to purchase a well-established, 40 year old retail wholesaler who had built up a fantastic reputation over the years. Quayside Wholesale operates out of a 60k sqft DC and delivers across the northern half of the United Kingdom, thus linking the PFG division geographically whilst allowing the business to expand on its range, coverage and overall efficiency.