Online pharmacy expansion secures ‘six-figure’ backing from HSBC UK
An online pharmacy has received a six-figure cash injection from HSBC UK to expand its offering with a new “state of the art” warehouse in London, the bank has announced.
Signature Pharmacy, a London-based prescription delivery service, has received “six-figure financial support” from HSBC UK to establish a new 1,400-square-foot warehouse, the bank announced today (June 12).
HSBC told C+D that the investment is £650,000 in total.
The new warehouse will be located in west London and will include a “state-of-the-art dispensary and in-house technology department”, it said.
Read more: Pharmacist ‘honoured’ to score place on Forbes 30 Under 30 list
This will “[support] the company’s game-changing pharmacy technology” and allow it to offer a “seamless online pharmacy experience and deliver medication straight to customers’ doors in London”, it added.
Signature Pharmacy is also looking to double its floor space with a second floor that will become additional warehouse and office space to “support growth”, HSBC said.
The expansion will create six new jobs for the local community, including pharmacy dispenser and software developer roles, as well as enabling the online pharmacy to “deliver more than 100,000 prescriptions annually”, it added.
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Signature Pharmacy is a registered online chemist providing free NHS and private prescription delivery services across the UK
It provides next-day delivery seven days a week to the address of each patient’s choice anywhere in the UK through tracked delivery services, plus same-day delivery in selected London postcodes.
“We’re building the future of pharmacy”
“Our vision at Signature Pharmacy is to make patients’ healthcare journeys easier, safer, and more convenient,” CEO and superintendent pharmacist at Signature Pharmacy Reece Samani said.
“We’re building the future of pharmacy with our technology and on-demand pharmacy logistics and thanks to telephone consultations and digital prescriptions, we can now provide a healthcare gateway that was previously unavailable,” he added.
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The financial backing from HSBC UK will allow the business to “expand [its] on-demand healthcare services to a wider range of patients, revolutionising the healthcare industry”, he said.
Raj Yadav, senior commercial manager at HSBC UK, said that “healthcare services are under significant strain across the country” at the same time that pharmacies throughout the UK are taking on “more responsibilities”.
“We’re pleased to support Signature Pharmacy in its efforts to support health service provision and deliver essential pharmaceutical services to communities,” he added.
Read more: Scottish online pharmacy acquires US prescription service in 'landmark' deal
It comes as Mr Samani won a place on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list for 2023 earlier this year.
The CEO of several pharmacy businesses including the locum-booking app Lopic and the electronic private prescription service SignatureRx, he was selected by a panel of judges for the list’s science and healthcare category.
The list, published in March, recognises 30 of Europe’s “youngest visionary leaders” across 10 categories.
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Lopic, previously known as The Locum App, was named Online Initiative of the Year at the C+D Awards 2020.
Mr Samani is a regular blogger for C+D, writing on issues including locum rates and private healthcare.
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It follows the news that Scottish online pharmacy Phlo secured a £10 million investment to
fund the “scaling” of its operations across the UK in February.
In April, it announced its acquisition of the UK arm of US prescription service Truepill in a “landmark” deal.
