The 11 pharmacies are located “in and around” Annan, Caol, Glasgow, Greenock, Kirkaldy, Stenhousemuir and Wishaw, and “will all be rebranded as Well Pharmacy in due course”, the multiple announced this afternoon (August 3).

 

Staff at the former Lloydspharmacy branches “will remain in post as part of the Well Pharmacy family”, it stressed.

 

The locations of the affected pharmacies are as follows:

• 37 High Street, Annan, DG12 6AD            

• 10 Kilblain Street, Greenock, PA15 1SR   

•  391 Kilbowie Road, Glasgow, Clydebank, G81 2TX             

• 263 Alderman Road, Glasgow, G13 3AY  

• Livingstone Boulevard, Blantyre, Glasgow, G72 0BP          

• 156 Main Street, Wishaw, ML2 7LU         

• 80-82 Main Street, Wishaw, ML2 7AB     

• Hallam Road, Stenhousemuir, FK5 3BF    

• 2 Viceroy St, Kirkcaldy, KY2 5HT

• Kirkcaldy Health Centre, Whyteman's Brae, Kirkcaldy, KY1 2NA    

• Caol Shopping Centre, Glenloy Street, Caol, PH33 7DR   

 

Well Pharmacy said the deal “highlights [the multiple’s] commitment to, and confidence in, the future of community pharmacy despite some challenging times for the sector – including branch closures by other chains”.

Read more: What do corporate disposals mean for the Scottish pharmacy market?

It follows consolidation announcements from Boots, Lloydspharmacy, Tesco and Asda this year, with sector leaders pointing to a wider pattern of closures across the sector as funding pressures take their toll.

 

 

“Delighted”

 

 

Well’s chief retail officer Andrew Caplan said the multiple was “delighted to be able to welcome these 11 pharmacies, their teams and communities to the Well family” following what “we know [has] been a worrying time for staff and customers of Lloydspharmacy”.

 

“We’re committed to delivering a great service for all our customers, and to helping our new colleagues develop their skills and build their careers with Well,” he added.

 

Read more: Ex-Sainsbury’s Lloydspharmacy workers head to court over redundancy benefits

 

A Lloydspharmacy spokesperson reiterated to C+D that the multiple is "reviewing its community pharmacy estate and is selectively selling some branches". 

 

“The team is pleased that colleagues from 11 of its branches in Scotland will be joining the Well Pharmacy family, and that for patients there will be no change in the way they use their local pharmacy,” they added. 

 

 

Well on acquisition trail

 

 

The news comes following Well’s merger with Lexon UK Holdings – a wholesaler that also operates 46 community pharmacies across England – in April.

 

The deal has been subject to a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which last week (July 28) indicated it would wave through the acquisition if Well’s parent company Bestway sells off seven pharmacies in areas where it would spark competition concerns.

 

Read more: CMA looks to give Well’s merger with Lexon the go ahead

 

Meanwhile, Lloydspharmacy has been consolidating its estate this year, with C+D exclusively revealing in January that it would withdraw its branches from Sainsbury’s supermarkets over the course of 2023.

 

In June, C+D exclusively revealed that all 237 Lloydspharmacy branches located in Sainsbury’s stores would close that month.

Read more: Seven-pharmacy divestment mooted amid Well/Lexon competition concerns

A spate of corporate disposals have taken place across Scotland in recent months, with Davidsons Chemists picking up five former Lloydspharmacy branches in May and Rowlands acquiring 30 soon after.

And brothers James and Brendan Semple, who own Scotland’s TLC Pharmacy group, bought a former Lloydspharmacy branch in Gourock, Renfrewshire, earlier this year – the pharmacy where one brother held his first manager’s job and the other completed his first day of work as a pharmacist.

Read more: Rowlands snaps up 30 Lloydspharmacy branches in Scotland

Meanwhile, Bannerman’s Pharmacy revealed last month that it had bought back two Glasgow pharmacies that its previous owners had sold to Lloydspharmacy 20 years ago.

And in April, C+D exclusively revealed that the Kamson’s Pharmacy group had bought five Lloydspharmacy branches across the south of England.