Leicester pharmacy group bought in £14.2m MBO

A Leicester group of pharmacies has been sold in a deal with worth £14.2m.

Clients of Connection Capital, the specialist private client investment business, have invested £8m, as part of a £14.2m transaction, to support the MBO and buy-and-build strategy of fast-growing UK community pharmacy operator, Mr Pickford’s Pharmacies.

The deal will see the team behind Mr Pickford’s Pharmacies, which has seven sites in the Leicester area, acquire the JM McGill Pharmacies and D&R Sharp Pharmacies businesses, which have 14 sites in South Yorkshire.

Connection Capital has partnered with DunPort Capital, which will provide senior debt funding to support the transaction and further undrawn facilities to support future acquisitions as part of a buy and build strategy.

Former Global CIO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Anthony Roberts, will also join the board as a non-executive director focused on the implementation of market leading technology within the group.

Miles Otway, partner at Connection Capital, said: “Community pharmacies are an increasingly important part of primary care, delivering services for the NHS cost-effectively, as evidenced throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and the flu vaccine programme.

“The management team within Mr Pickford’s Pharmacies has established an innovative methodology for delivering organic growth and enhancing profitability – one which is directly applicable to the newly acquired sites and should deliver swift uplifts in performance.

“This is also a sector with significant scope for consolidation. The investment strategy seeks to replicate the success achieved by operators in other fragmented markets like dentistry, to create a challenger group of meaningful scale. It’s an exciting investment opportunity for our clients.”

Mr Pickford’s Pharmacies is led by CEO Mark Stephenson and COO Mimi Lau,

Stephenson said: “Mr Pickford’s Pharmacies are delighted to have acquired an additional 14 pharmacies to add to our existing seven pharmacies. Our intention is to continue to grow both organically and through a series of clustered targeted acquisitions. We believe our proposition of employing the best people in pharmacy, mixed with market leading technology and clinical excellence, results in a brilliant proposition for our patients, staff and stakeholders.”