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Lloydspharmacy is to acquire Sainsbury’s pharmacy business for £125m, as part of a strategic partnership between the supermarket chain and Celesio AG, owner of Lloydspharmacy, announced on 29 July 2015.
Lloydspharmacy — the UK’s second largest retail pharmacy company with more than 1,500 stores — will pay annual rent to Sainsbury’s for each of 277 in-store pharmacies acquired as part of the deal. It will also acquire four pharmacies located in hospitals. All will be rebranded as Lloydspharmacy. Up to 2,500 Sainsbury’s pharmacy staff will transfer to LloydsPharmacy under TUPE arrangements, according to the two companies.
“Working together with a specialist operator like Lloydspharmacy will enable us to grow and extend our pharmacy services to customers, while realising value for shareholders today from the pharmacy business we have grown organically over the past 20 years,” says Mike Coupe, CEO of Sainsbury’s.
Marc Owen, chairman of Celesio AG’s management board, says the deal is an “important milestone”. “Our collaboration with Sainsbury’s will help to improve the health and wellness of our mutual customers,” he adds.
Cormac Tobin, managing director of LloydsPharmacy and Celesio UK, says: “We have developed a range of services to make it easier for people to manage their health, such as our pain management and skin health services, and we look forward to making these even more accessible via the Sainsbury’s network.”
The companies expect to complete the deal by the end of February 2016.
