A RHYL-born billionaire businessman and founder of Kwik Save has died at the age of 87.

Albert Gubay died at his Cheshire home on January, Monday 5. The philanthropist opened his first shop in Prestatyn called Value Foods in May 1959 and rented its first retail shop in Rhyl. He went on to found the Kwik Save chain in the 60s - its headquarters remained in Prestatyn for many years.

In 1973, Mr Gubay sold the business for £14m. He found and later sold 3 Guys - a supermarket chain with branches in Ireland, New Zealand and the US - before establishing fitness chain Total Fitness. In the 1980s, Mr Gubay took an interest in property. He built Total Fitness gyms, offices, industrial units and residential. He also started to build retail parks.

Phil Hartley-Williams, former North Wales Pioneer editor, worked with Mr Gubay in Value Foods when he was 14-years-old.

He said: “I was essentially a shelf stacker when I worked alongside Albert. It was very early days of the shop. We had these different sections - I was on pickled beetroot and that. They were called gondolas and they were quite big and posh.

“We’d be a little scared of him but more out of respect - he was a brilliant businessman. He was very generous. We got essentially what is 5p an hour now. When I was working in Prestatyn he had a shop in Rhyl and he would ask ‘can your mum get you to the other shop on Saturday - we will give you a lift back’, so I would do that and on the way back he’d say ‘here’s 10 bob - you deserve it’.

“He used to give donations but in a very modest way. He was so busy.”

When Mr Hartley-Williams left school, he worked at Kwik Save’s head office on Warren Drive, Prestatyn.

“The concept was cheap and cheerful,” he explained. “Albert was a leader. He would be out in his duffle coat working on a truck; he was exceptionally hard working. He took to opening the Prestatyn store until 7pm which was really unheard of in those days.

“it was just amazing to be there are see all those great business changes. I left because I was in a band and we had these visions of being big.

“Working there and with Albert did have an impact on my life - it was amazing to be part of that world.”