Family-run chain ‘rescues’ Lloydspharmacy branch scheduled for closure
A family-run chain has “rescued” a Lloydspharmacy branch scheduled for closure last month, according to its managing director.
Jardines Pharmacy – which now operates 21 branches in a 30-mile radius of Milton Keynes, as well as an internet pharmacy – bought a Lloydspharmacy currently operating out of a Portakabin in a car park in the district of Stantonbury, managing director Has Modi told C+D.
The pharmacy is one of the 190 “commercially unviable” Lloydspharmacy branches in England where parent company Celesio UK will cease trading. C+D has now confirmed the location of 37 of these pharmacies (see map below); the multiple would not confirm the remaining 153 branches.
The pharmacy – scheduled for closure on January 31 – has been in temporary accommodation “for a while”, Mr Modi told C+D yesterday (February 14), ever since the multiple was asked to vacate its original premises.
Jardines will continue to operate out of the Portakabin for the time being, while it “negotiates a more permanent setting”, Mr Modi said. However, it will use the ‘Stantonbury Pharmacy’ name, rather than “stick Jardines branding all over it…to show that it is part of the local community”.
Support staff kept on
Jardines has kept on two of the pharmacy’s support staff, while the pharmacist has gone to another nearby Lloydspharmacy.
“Each [Jardines] branch is given autonomy to tailor their service to [the] local population,” he explained. “This is what we’ll be doing with this new Lloyds purchase once we get a sense of what the population needs.”
“Stantonbury has elderly patients,” he added.
According to Mr Modi, the pharmacy will face the “normal amount” of local competition – another Lloydspharmacy, a Boots branch and “probably two other independents”.
Where else is Lloydspharmacy ceasing trading?
You can use C+D's map to view the location of each of the 37 Lloydspharmacy branches so far confirmed for closure or sale.
Branches confirmed for closure are marked in purple, while those up for sale are marked in blue. The branches that have been sold are marked in orange.
This map is live, and will be updated as C+D confirms the locations of further affected Lloydspharmacy branches.
Looking to buy or sell a pharmacy? Browse C+D Marketplace for the latest listings
Do you work for a Lloydspharmacy branch earmarked for closure or sale?