Allied Pharmacies has sold six of the Jhoots pharmacies it bought last year across Devon, Dorset and Cheltenham.
Four of the pharmacies have been sold to one buyer, with the other two pharmacies sold off individually.
In June, Allied Pharmacies confirmed its Minehead branch closed after just six months of trading following “extremely limited” use of its services.
It comes after the company’s CEO told C+D in February that it “will not close any” of the ex-Jhoots pharmacies it had purchased last year.
Read more: Inside the deal for Allied and Jhoots Pharmacy
Managing director Suhail Sharief told C+D last week that Allied has been “pragmatic” with the pharmacies it took on from Jhoots, either selling the pharmacies outright or into a partnership with a pharmacist who has shares in a branch.
“Looking at the significant number of pharmacies we got, we realised it’d probably be difficult for us to make sure that every single pharmacy will work at the utmost level of every aspect of the service, of the operation, of everything else that goes with it,” he said.
“We balance that with selling it to a local operator that can continue that service and keep that pharmacy open and well managed.”
Allied
Sharief reiterated that Allied’s priority when it took over 129 Jhoots pharmacies at the end of 2025 was to reopen them.
“There was no sort of in-depth analysis of which pharmacies would work in terms of commercial side,” said Sharief. “Our priority was to open these pharmacies as soon as possible.
“What we ended up finding is that some of these pharmacies historically weren’t in great demand. There weren’t really large pharmacies. There were quite some relatively small, remotely located.
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“We didn’t care about any of that. We thought we need to open these. The patients need it. The surgeries need these pharmacies open. The NHS wanted to open. We wanted to open, so we did all that.”
After completing “quite a big job” in getting all the pharmacies operating again, Sharief said people approached Allied either to go into partnership with them on the ex-Jhoots pharmacies or buy them outright.
And they employ a “strict condition” with buyers that they take the current staff on too, so no one loses their job.
Read more: Exclusive: Allied went into Jhoots deal ‘blind’, says CEO
“We try to get other investors or other people to buy into it and to be able to continue that trade. So that’s the plan.”
When Allied finished its takeover of the Jhoots pharmacies, they told C+D in February they have 300 pharmacies.
Sharief did not share how many of the Jhoots pharmacies that Allied bought had been sold outright or into partnerships in total.
Medscheck
Family-run independent group Medscheck Ltd bought four Allied Pharmacies at the locations on 1-3 Caen Street in Braunton on June 1, Abbey View Medical Centre on Hawkesdene Lane, Shaftesbury on July 10, and both Borough Road in Combe Martin and Bridport Medical Centre in Bridport on July 27.
Its superintendent pharmacy Nishaan Amin said Medscheck now owns 10 branches in total and said it bought the branches in areas where locals are “restricted by corporate offerings” and “left with minimal choice”.
Read more: ‘Extremely low volumes’: Allied Pharmacies shuts Somerset branch
“They may either have to heavily rely on postal order for prescription deliveries, or pay a pharmacy to provide the delivery service,” Amin told C+D. “We offer these types of services for free as a means to give back to the local community for their endless support and loyalty to independent businesses.”
Amin said he will continue to invest in technology to “improve patient safety and efficiency”, expand the services on offer to patients, and work “closely with local GP practices and other healthcare professionals”.
Badham Pharmacy
Allied Pharmacies had reopened the pharmacy located in Waitrose Cheltenham on Honeybourne Way on March 18.
But it sold the pharmacy to local independent chain Badham Pharmacy on July 2.
Superintendent pharmacist and managing director Peter Badham said they bought the pharmacy as it is “an ideal fit” near its other Cheltenham branches.
Read more: REVEALED: Allied takes over 68 more Jhoots pharmacies
He confirmed Badham Pharmacy is keeping the staff on from Allied, and the purchase is part of a strategy to “acquire one new branch every year” which it has done since 2006.
Badham Pharmacy was established in 1940 by Badham’s father, and it now owns 29 branches across Gloucestershire as well as in the Forest of Dean, the Cotswolds and Bristol.
“We have no doubt we can turn it around with quality service and a range of private services,” Badham told C+D.
Read more: Allied takeover: Which ex-Jhoots branches have reopened so far?
A Waitrose spokesperson told C+D it is “pleased to welcome a new pharmacy” and that it is an “invaluable service for the local community”.
“We’re always looking for ways to make shopping more convenient for our customers, who can now get their healthcare, wellness essentials, and friendly advice while visiting us for the food they love,” they added.
Lyme Regis Pharmacy
Allied Pharmacies branch in Lyme Regis Medical Centre on Uplyme Road has been bought by new owner and superintendent pharmacist Dan Florea and now renamed as Lyme Regis Pharmacy.
The sale was completed on May 28 and the same staff stayed on, with Florea keen to introduce private services at the start of next year once the flu and Covid season has passed.
Florea knew the branch after locuming in it when it was a Lloyds pharmacy prior to Jhoots taking it over, and he saw the “potential” in the pharmacy.
Read more: Revealed: The 60 Jhoots locations taken over by Allied Pharmacies
“At the moment, we’re concentrating on advertising that the branch is under new management,” he told C+D.
“There was a lot of frustration in the area since it was the only pharmacy in town. People had to travel a lot, and some people went onto online services.
“We reopened, people are returning to us and we get new patients every day. People are still coming back to us and nominating to our pharmacy. There’s been a good reaction.”
