THE brother of Labour leadership hopeful Anas Sarwar has signalled his intent to build up his independent pharmacy chain.
Asim Sarwar, who is also managing director of United Wholesale (Scotland), teamed up with Kasim Gulzar to launch the Honey Pharmacy Group and has grown turnover to £7 million.
And now the pair are ramping up their growth strategy with a £600,000 investment.
Honey Pharmacy Group is owned by United Wholesale (Scotland) managing director Asim Sarwar, and pharmacist Kasim Gulzar.
In 2015, Honey acquired five chemist stores operating under the Apple Pharmacy brand from Sanjay Majhu, the entrepreneur behind the Ashoka Indian restaurant chain, taking its portfolio to eight.
Stores in Edinburgh, Dundee and Polmont were converted to Honey Pharmacies, while the company opened two further branches in Glasgow, on Alexandra Parade and Cathcart Road, under Apple branding.
The investment integrates the remaining two Apple Pharmacy stores from that acquisition, based in Edinburgh and Inverness, into the Honey Pharmacy brand portfolio, taking the total number across Scotland to eight.
Mr Gulzar and Mr Sarwar, owners and operators of the group, have agreed a £480,000 funding package with current bankers HSBC. The company is also investing £120,000 in the project.
The growth strategy programme includes a rebranding and refurbishment of all stores.
Mr Gulzar said: “Since our relationship with HSBC began in 2015, the bank has supported our growth aspirations through acquisition. Our unwavering commitment to delivering quality service is synonymous with the Honey Pharmacy brand, which we hope to continue growing throughout Scotland.”
Honey has grown its employee base through acquisition and traineeships from four staff to 60.
Grant Bett, relationship director at HSBC in Scotland, said: “Honey Pharmacy is an ambitious business and this programme of refurbishment, rebranding and integration is an exciting next step in its growth.”
The funding has been allocated from HSBC’s £10 billion SME Fund, with £500m specifically to support SMEs in Scotland.
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