Family find buyer for their Grangemouth newsagents and bow out after 20 years

The popular shop in Bowhouse Square, Grangemouth, which gained praise and new customers aplenty for pulling out all the stops to help people during this year’s COVID-19 crisis, will be under new ownership in just over a month’s time.

Husband and wife team Ghulam Farid and Shagufta Shamin and their family have been serving customers in the Bowhouse area of Grangemouth for almost 20 years now, but Ghulam has had issues with his health in recent times and this has forced the family to rethink their position.

They made the announcement on their Facebook page back in June they were looking to sell the premises and now a buyer has come forward to carry the business forward after they leave.

Shagufta said: “It is sad to be going because we’ve been part of the community for 20 years and we will miss all our customers. We have two grandchildren, so I will be able to see them more and I will be looking after my husband’s health too.”

The man taking over the business is Barry Mitchell, a lorry driver by trade from the Banknock area who also owns a jet washing business. He is scheduled to take over from the family on October 4 if everything goes according to plan.

The Bowhouse Newsagent has become a vital part of the community over the past two decades and especially during recent times.

During the COVID-19 crisis the family went out of their way to obtain stock and help their customers, ordering items people have asked for and putting regular updates online to tell potential shoppers about the goods they have on their shelves, so no one wastes a trip out.

Even before the coronavirus lockdown came into force, the Bowhouse Newsagents went the extra mile to help their most vulnerable customers. At a time when supermarkets were being swept bare by those now infamous panic buyers, the family was driving down to England to stock up.

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