East of England Co-op finds buyer for all six of its pharmacies
The East of England Co-op has sold all six of its pharmacy branches to Suffolk Pharma Ltd.
The East of England Co-op – which is “owned by over 275,000 members” and provides “stores and services…across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire” – blamed “market conditions” for its decision to put all its pharmacies up for sale in May 2018.
The six branches had “struggled to make a sustained, positive contribution, despite significant investment”, it said at the time.
The group said it has “secured employment” for all pharmacy staff at the six branches, who have transferred to Suffolk Pharma Ltd.
Eight offers for the pharmacies were made to Hutchings Consultants, which confirmed the acquisition earlier this month (May 9).
“Suffolk Pharma Ltd is a new venture, whose directors already hold an interest in 20+ pharmacies across Merseyside, Midlands, Essex, London, Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk and has further plans to grow,” the broker said on its website.
Suffolk Pharma Ltd director Jay Patel told Hutchings he is “delighted to grow our existing group and continue to provide an excellent health service to the local community”.
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