Business planning

Business confidence among pharmacists hits rock bottom, Lloyds bank index reveals

Business confidence among community pharmacists in England has fallen to a record low, according to the results of the annual Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Healthcare Confidence Index.…

Group of NHS acute trusts adopts e-procurement system

Ten leading acute trusts in England have adopted an electronic procurement system, which it is claimed has the potential to save the NHS millions of pounds.…

Walgreens Boots Alliance sales rise by 13.4% to $117.4bn

Walgreens Boots Alliance, owner of the Boots pharmacy chain, has reported a fall in profits of 1.1% to US$4.2bn, while sales rose by 13.4% to $117.4bn, for its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 31 August 2016.…

Sainsbury’s pharmacies have become Lloydspharmacy branches

All 281 Sainsbury’s pharmacies officially became Lloydspharmacy branches on 1 September 2016 as part of a £125m takeover deal agreed in July 2015 between J Sainsbury Plc and Celesio UK. Of these, 277 are in-store pharmacies based at Sainsbury’s supermarkets and four are outpa…

Well to pay pharmacy staff more than the national living wage

All pharmacy staff and drivers working at Well, the UK’s third largest pharmacy chain, will be paid at a rate above the national living wage (NLW), the company has announced. Around 4,500 staff working across the company’s store and driver teams will see their pay increase, some by…

Merger of Pfizer and Allergan collapses

Pfizer has called off its merger with Dublin-based Allergan because of changes to tax rules in the United States. The US$160bn deal, announced in November 2015, would have created the largest pharmaceutical company in the world.…

Bestway sees Well pharmacies hit revenues of £583m

Bestway, the new owner of the Co-operative Pharmacy, released its financial results for 2015 showing turnover for its new division “slightly exceeded expectations”.…

How we refurbished a famous London pharmacy

John Bell & Croyden pharmacy, which first opened over 200 years ago and holds the Royal warrant, has just had a £4m makeover.…

Pharmacy franchises and buying groups: advantages and drawbacks

The first franchise of a multiple in the UK, Lloydspharmacy, recently opened in Gloucester. But what are the advantages of joining a franchise or buying group — and do they differ from one another?…

How a pharmacy student built a global company

Charles Ebubedike conceived the idea for a pharmaceutical company together with classmates on his pharmacy degree course. He tells Stephen Robinson how they developed the company into an international business.…