More than half of the Jhoots branches Allied Pharmacies took over earlier this month have reopened, C+D can exclusively reveal.
The company this week (November 26) said that 33 of the 61 ex-Jhoots branches it bought are trading again and it has access to 12 more that it expects to have up and running in a matter of days.
It told C+D that it does not yet have access to the remaining pharmacies but added that it is “speaking to landlords” and “significant progress” has been made on “most” of them.
Read more: Exclusive: Allied went into Jhoots deal ‘blind’, says CEO
Allied Pharmacies announced earlier this month that it had “taken over the management of 60 Jhoots pharmacies” across the country - and that while the “majority” were “temporarily closed”, it is “fully committed to reinstating essential pharmacy services”.
The company today (November 28) revealed to C+D that it has taken over an additional Jhoots location - bringing the total to 61 - that it previously believed had had its NHS contract terminated.
Allied Pharmacies is working to gain access to the premises at Cheltenham Waitrose on Honeybourne Way after discovering that the contract is still active, it said.
See the full list of reopened locations below.
“Race against time”
It comes after Allied Pharmacies’ chief executive revealed in an exclusive interview that the company went into the takeover “blind” and “not knowing how many” of the branches it will be able to reopen.
Suhaib Abdullah told C+D that the company is in “a race against time” as some of the pharmacies have been closed “for a number of months” and are now at risk of losing their NHS contracts.
A representative for Allied Pharmacies confirmed that these branches are among the more than 20 that integrated care boards (ICBs) are working to remove from the pharmaceutical list - a development revealed by pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock earlier this month.
Read more: Jhoots: Allied to settle unpaid staff wages ‘in full’ amid takeover
But the company has met with the ICBs and they are taking the “significant change in control and management” of the pharmacies “into account”, they added.
C+D also last week revealed that Allied Pharmacies will pay off former Jhoots staff’s unpaid wages “in full” following its takeover of the branches – with the outstanding wages of 37 staff paid as of Friday last week.
Allied Pharmacies’ takeover follows various of the “independent” businesses under the Jhoots Pharmacy brand coming under fire for a range of issues over several months.
List of reopened locations in full
- Allied Pharmacy Teams - Watson Street, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE8 2PQ
- Allied Pharmacy Greenside - Rockwood Hill Road, Greenside, Ryton, Tyne and Wear NE40 4AX
- Allied Pharmacy Linthorpe - 386 Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough TS5 6HA
- Allied Pharmacy Westgate - Prospect House, 501 West Gate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 8AY
- Allied Pharmacy Derby Street - 29 Derby Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3LE
- Allied Pharmacy Oldham - Oldham Integrated Care Centre, New Radcliffe Street, Oldham OL1 1NL
- Allied Pharmacy Werneth - Werneth Primary Care Centre, Featherstall Road South, Oldham OL9 7AY
- Allied Pharmacy Sedbergh - 48-50 Main Street, Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5BL
- Allied Pharmacy Arundel - Green Lane Close, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9HG
- Allied Pharmacy Bridport - Bridport Medical Centre West Allington, Bridport DT6 5BN
- Allied Pharmacy Cowes - Cowes Medical Centre, 200 Newport Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7ER
- Allied Pharmacy Rainham - Rainham Boots, Unit 21- 22, Rainham Shopping Centre, Rainham, Gillingham ME8 7HW
- Allied Pharmacy Truro - Truro TR1 2JA
- Allied Pharmacy Beechwood - Fishponds, Beechwood Road, Bristol BS16 3TD
- Allied Pharmacy Mildenhall - 27 Market Place, Mildenhall, Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk IP28 7EF
- Allied Pharmacy Newton Abbott - Unit 2, Former Hospital Site, East Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4PT
- Allied Pharmacy Torpoint - Penntorr Health, Trevol Business Centre, Trevol Road, Torpoint, Plymouth PL11 2TB
- Allied Pharmacy Holsworthy - 2 Stanhope Close, Holsworthy, Devon EX22 6DX
- Allied Pharmacy Taunton - Blackbrook Medical Centre, Lisieux Way, Taunton, Somerset TA1 2LB
- Allied Pharmacy Williton - Williton Surgery, Robert Street, Williton, Taunton TA4 4QE
- Allied Pharmacy Ilfracombe - 21 High St, Ilfracombe, Exeter EX34 9DA
- Allied Pharmacy Combe Martin - Borough Road, Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 0AN
- Allied Pharmacy Bideford - Wooda, Clarence Wharf, Barnstaple Street, Bideford, Exeter EX39 4AU
- Allied Pharmacy Barnstaple - The Litchdon Medical Centre, Landkey Road, Barnstaple, Exeter EX32 9LL
- Allied Pharmacy Pepperall Road - Highbridge Medical Centre, Pepperall Road, Highbridge, Taunton TA9 3YA
- Audrey’s Pharmacy - 40 Grange Road, West Kirby, Wirral, Merseyside CH48 4EF
- Allied Pharmacy Coronation Square - 56-58 Edinburgh Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 7SA
- Allied Pharmacy Laceby Road - Raj Medical Centre, Laceby Road, Grimsby DN34 5LP
- Allied Pharmacy Cottingham - Unit 1, Kings Parade, King Street, Cottingham HU16 5QQ
- Allied Pharmacy Thorley - The Thorley Centre, Thorley, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 4EG
- Allied Pharmacy Stirling Street - 1 Stirling Street, Grimsby DN31 3AE
- Allied Pharmacy Bilton - Unit 1, 4 Diadem Grove, Bilton, Hull HU9 4AL
- Allied Pharmacy Sutton Park - Units 3-4 Littondale, Sutton Park, Hull HU7 4BJ
