Rowlands Pharmacy has reported a sustained number of 100-hour pharmacy applications that it said could create significant competition for its business.

Rowlands managing director Kenny Black said he had seen 50 applications a month made near Rowlands branches since June last year, five months before the government first proposed removal of the 100-hour exemption.

Mr Black warned that granting further 100-hour contracts would damage the existing pharmacy network. "It affects your business quite significantly – if a pharmacy opens, it just eats into the NHS funding," he told C+D. "We have seen applications which, if they opened, would affect our branches."

"It affects your business quite significantly – if a pharmacy opens, it just eats into the NHS funding" Kenny Black Rowlands Pharmacy

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Mr Black also said that, despite warnings from some contractors about the high costs of running 100-hour pharmacies, many 100-hour businesses could survive by reducing their running costs. "We didn't expect some of these applications to last as long as they have," he told C+D. "A lot of them are run by independents who don't pay themselves for the time they're working." Mr Black welcomed the proposed new control-of-entry arrangements, which are expected to see decisions on applications for new pharmacies being based on local pharmaceutical needs assessments.

While legal experts have warned that the new system could block any new pharmacies from opening, Mr Black argued that it could benefit existing businesses. "I think it will stabilise the market and give people the confidence to invest in their existing portfolio," he said.

The government's consultation on plans to remove the 100-hour exemption and change the control-of-entry system ended in January, but it has still not confirmed that the changes will go ahead.

Mr Black warned that the government may be left with no choice but to grant the large number of applications for new 100-hour contracts being made ahead of this confirmation. "I don't think they can stop it," he said.