The Spar Group expects to complete the sale of its south-west England wholesaler Appleby Westward (AWG) “early in the new year” after admitting the deal had faced delays.
Speaking at the international firm’s 2025 earnings call, chief executive Angelo Schwartz said the sale of the wholesaler
“has been slower than we’d like”, though he added renewed progress had been made “in the last week or two”. He attributed delays to the still-undecided sale price with its undisclosed buyer.
Earlier this year, the Spar Group confirmed it was in exclusive talks with a UK business regarding the sale of AWG, which it said has “extensive experience” in European food retail and distribution.
Read more: Appleby Westward MD discusses future sale of wholesaler
Executives also told analysts the company had written off around £70.5m (1.6bn Rand) for AWG.
Also speaking on the call, chief financial officer Reeza Isaacs said it had been a “really tough year” for its UK business, citing a “tough trading environment with highly price-sensitive consumers” and “bigger players moving into the convenience space and investing in price”.
The business revealed UK sales fell 7.6% over the past year, also attributing losses to the single-use vape legislation in June. The UK business saw gross profit down 9.5% for 2025, resulting in an operating loss of £5.4m.
