Big 30 wholesaler report and rankings 2026: a heavy load to bear

Innovation, technology and talent are the bedrocks of modern wholesale. And investing in these areas is a key goal many wholesalers have on their checklists in 2026. However, this is a sector feeling the squeeze.

As our Big 30 Wholesaler ranking shows, while overall profits and profit margins are up – reflecting the continued recovery in hospitality, inflation-driven menu pricing and consolidation, several large wholesalers are in negative profit growth, including LWC (–52%), Henderson Wholesale (–38%), JJ Foodservice (–23.8%), Holdsworth (–38.7%) and Lioncroft (–115%).

And while others showed strong, profitable growth – including Costco (33.7%), InPost Newstrade (277%), Pricecheck (83%) and Holland Bazaar (64.3%), it takes very little in this notoriously low-margin sector to tip operators over the edge. And the figures in our ranking are historic – meaning that present and future market conditions are not factored into the health check our annual survey provides.

Indeed, our conversations with wholesalers suggest the mood has darkened markedly, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ double budget whammy piling on the pressure, causing “more confusion than clarity”, according to Henderson Wholesale sales and marketing director Patrick Doody.

These challenges are not unique to wholesale, of course, but as Holland Bazaar commercial director Andrew Kirby says, they have “put a strain on an already tight bottom line”. In fact, its main threats are now “driven by government policy rather than competition”, he claims.

So, what exactly are wholesalers up against? And how is the sector planning to fight back against the numerous headwinds?

It’s all come at once

While recent years have had significant challenges, such as the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, this year “there’s a lot of stuff that’s been laid on top of one another, and it’s all come at once”, says Unitas chief operating officer David Cooke.

Employers were already grappling with the 1.2% rise in National Insurance contributions (NICs), which came into effect in April 2025. On top of this, the national living wage will go up by a further 50p to £12.71 an hour from April.

Meanwhile business rates are undergoing a major overhaul. Properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, which includes many large distribution warehouses and depots, will be subject to a new “high-value” business rates multiplier of 50.8p from April.

It is a system Bestway MD Dawood Pervez believes “places a disproportionate burden on bricks & mortar wholesalers and independent retailers, compared with online and large-scale operators”.

In fact, 80% of wholesalers who were surveyed by trade body Food & Drink Wholesale (FWD) ahead of the budget have sites exceeding the £500,000 rateable value threshold. And they said they would be forced to raise food prices and pass the costs on to local businesses this year.

These cost challenges are “stripping wholesalers’ ability to grow and expand”, warns Cooke. “This industry is very low-margin percentage, so a small wobble can have a catastrophic impact.”

Unfortunately, the effects are already trickling through. Over the past 12 months, Holland Bazaar has been “reluctant to increase employee numbers due to the costs this would incur”, despite strong sales growth (24.6%) and increased profits (64.3%).

“Tight cost controls” are also expected to be a key theme in 2026, according to JW Filshill CEO Simon Hannah, as wholesalers look to mitigate some of the costs associated with “continuous legislative change and the tax on business”.

One of the biggest challenges has been inflation. While like-for-like grocery inflation eased to 4% in the four weeks to 25 January – its lowest level since April 2025 – according to Worldpanel by Numerator, shoppers continue to cut down on basket spend.

The cost of living, inflation and economic policy combined will “continue to impact on consumers becoming even more cost-conscious, which will impact on wholesale as much as retail”, says Pervez. “Businesses will have no choice but to pass on some of their increased tax burden to the consumer given the rising costs of goods, energy and transportation.

“As businesses struggle to absorb these costs, the only other outcome is to reduce profit. Price increases can lead to reduced discretionary spending, which could affect demand for convenience products.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom for grocery wholesalers. In fact, Booker CEO Andrew Yaxley sees changing shopper behaviour as a potential opportunity.

In its most recent full-year results sales actually fell at the Tesco-owned wholesaler, which supplies to symbol group partners Premier, Londis and Budgens. But while tobacco sales are still declining, convenience stores are “playing an increasingly important role in top-up shopping and quick, local missions” as households continue to budget carefully, he argues.

Tough times for foodservice

The bigger challenge is foodservice. While the fastest growth rates in the Big 30 have been among foodservice players, most notably Sysco (5.9%) but also specialists like Reynolds Catering (18.3%), Castell Howell (14.9%), Pricecheck (18.4%), LWC Drinks (16.6%) and Kitwave (10.3%), the hospitality trade is facing into tough times.

Hospitality employed 8,784 fewer people in December 2025 compared with November 2025 – at a time when the sector would traditionally have been staffing up in preparation for the festive period – according to labour market data from the Office for National Statistics.

Having lost an estimated 100,000 workers since the October 2024 budget, UKHospitality says it is “entirely plausible” that an additional 100,000 jobs will follow due to the 2025 budget.

The challenges facing hospitality are a big concern for wholesalers. JJ Foodservice, for example, is seeing reduced order volumes as its customers face into a triple threat of rising costs, falling confidence and unpredictable trading conditions.

“Fewer people are eating out or spending freely – reducing demand across restaurants, takeaways and cafés,” says COO Kaan Hendekli.

Last month, the Chancellor granted pubs and music venues 15% business rates relief for 2026/27, with those bills then frozen in real terms for a further two years. The package will save the ­average pub £1,650 in 2026/27, according to the Treasury. Restaurants were not included in the relief package, however. UKHospitality estimates an average 54% rise in business rates bills over the next three years.

Hendekli believes “stronger government backing – whether through VAT reform or sector-specific relief – would help keep thousands of small food businesses thriving, which in turn strengthens the entire foodservice supply chain”.

He does, though, see pockets of growth in the foodservice sector, mainly as a result of “people wanting to experiment, discover new flavours and the boom in fast-casual dining”. Hendekli believes businesses aligned to these trends are the ones that will “do well”.

Sysco GB CEO Paul Nieduszynski provides an even more positive outlook, predicting the UK out-of-home market is “poised for vibrant growth in 2026”.

“Consumers are embracing convenience, and choices are driven by tighter budgets and higher expectations, as value is defined by more than just price,” he says. “This creates exciting opportunities for operators to innovate and expand. Ongoing cost pressures present challenges, but they also encourage smarter strategies and partnerships.”

Power of the supermarkets

Meanwhile, the barrier between wholesalers and supermarkets is being chipped away, little by little. Since Tesco’s £3.7bn acquisition of Booker Group in 2018, Bestway has acquired a 5% stake in Sainsbury’s (albeit without any integration), while Morrisons is also growing its wholesale sales. Although the acquisition of McColl’s in 2022 meant taking ownership of (and converting) its 1,160 stores, it has since developed a franchise-owned and operated Morrisons Daily proposition, and now has over 1,700 convenience and franchise stores combined.

Interest from major supermarkets in the wholesale sector – not to mention the growth in their own convenience estates – reflects “just how strategically important this channel has become”, Pervez believes. And the issue for low-growth cash & carry wholesalers like Bestway (+0%), but also Dhamecha (+0.1%), United Wholesale Grocers (–2.2%) and Lioncroft (–1.8%) is compounded by slowing demand from independent retailers, more supplier direct-to-store and drop-ship models, and increased competition from Costco (up 6.2%) as well as supermarkets and the discounters.

Pervez has witnessed a “continued shift of shopper spend away from convenience [as a market] and towards the major multiples and discounters, intensifying pressure on independent retailers and the wholesale sector that supports them”.

This has been exacerbated by the “growing impact of supermarket loyalty schemes, which are increasingly funded through large-scale retail media revenues”. Pervez warns that this level of investment in price and loyalty mechanics remains “structurally difficult for convenience retailers to compete with and continues to distort value perception for shoppers”.

Nonetheless, Pervez remains optimistic that the “core advantage still lies with established wholesale partners who understand the nuances of the channel and can deliver the right mix of value, availability and support”.

Kirby at Holland Bazaar goes further. He sees competition from supermarkets as an opportunity. “The more the market opens up, the more space we have to extend our reach. Households getting used to buying in bulk is a fantastic opportunity for us to attract the same shoppers into our depots, where we can offer a much wider range of product. As a business we’re already making plans to carry a broader, more diverse range of products to attract family shoppers in the area.”

Investment in efficiency

Juggling ever-increasing labour costs, business rates, energy prices and compliance requirements while trying to invest in business is a struggle the wholesale sector knows all too well.

But it’s precisely these challenges that are “accelerating the need for scale, efficiency and investment in technology”, Pervez says.

Some wholesalers are going full steam ahead, looking to tech to minimise waste and drive efficiency but also to enhance the customer experience.

JJ Foodservice was the first wholesaler in the UK to launch self-service kiosks across its entire network last year, when 79% of all orders were placed online, spanning the app, website and EDI channels. Digital growth is now an area which “remains central to JJ’s future”, according to COO Hendekli.

JW Filshill is another pioneer in the digital space, investing heavily in IT in recent years. As part of this, the wholesaler provided more than 70 colleagues with access to 10 weeks of practical AI training last year. But it’s data that “remains at the heart of our strategy”, says Hannah. “Not just in terms of volume, but in how we analyse and apply insights to drive productivity, efficiency and offset rising costs.”

Even though wholesalers are competing tooth and nail, FWD CEO James Bielby sees it as a positive just how collaborative the industry is becoming.

“Someone like Simon is happy to talk about the work he is doing in AI and show it is scalable for other businesses. Wholesalers are adapting and using technological advances in a way they’ve never done previously. Lots of businesses certainly would have been a bit nervous about doing things in a different way, whereas now they really are embracing it, and that’s really exciting.”

It’s an area that buying groups have also been keen to educate their members on. In July, The Wholesale Group launched AI technology to analyse market trends, identify promotional opportunities and correlate sales patterns across its network of members. Meanwhile, Unitas launched an AI Academy to offer members and supplier partners with tools and techniques to improve efficiency.

During such a tricky time, balancing increased costs with business investment won’t be easy, but Bielby takes heart from the fact that wholesale has much recent experience of facing down existential threats.

“Whilst things might be tough, wholesale is still really vital,” he says. “Our members are resilient. Foodservice businesses had more challenges during Covid than they’ve got now, but not a single wholesaler went bust. It shows how resilient the sector is, and regardless of the challenging conditions, people still need to eat and drink, and we’ll always be there to provide that service.”

Bielby also argues “wholesale is in a better place than ever in terms of working with the government”. In March, Andrew Selley, CEO of Bidcorp UK, was appointed to the government’s Food Strategy Advisory Board (FSAB). And just last month the FWD launched the Food Resilience Commission, chaired by former food minister Daniel Zeichner, which will investigate whether the UK’s food system is fit for purpose and able to withstand modern-day supply chain shocks.

“[Following Selley’s appointment on to the FSAB] wholesale has someone who has a revolving door into government,” Bielby adds.

“Whilst it’s doom and gloom on some fronts, it’s also true we have the opportunity to influence and have our voices heard more than ever before.”