The Hub Pharmacy continues acquisitive streak with six deals
THE Hub pharmacy has acquired a further six community pharmacies in Yorkshire, as part of its ongoing ‘buy and build’ strategy.
The acquisition of the six sites, which were previously owned by Living Care Pharmacy, means the Hub pharmacy now operates 17 pharmacies in the north of England.
Five of the pharmacies are located in Halifax – at Springhall, Sandbeds, Boothtown, Horne Street and Hanson Lane – with the sixth in the nearby village of Southowram.
During the next six months, the Hub said it will invest substantial funds to refurbish the sites, rebrand them as ‘the Hub pharmacy’ and upgrade IT systems.
All the staff in the pharmacies are being retained, with more jobs likely to be created in the near future, it said.
In addition, the Hub pharmacy and Living Care Pharmacy have agreed to establish a joint professional services and buying group, called Total Independent Pharmacy Services. TIPS – which will also include other independent pharmacies in the north of England – will enable its members to benefit from better purchasing deals and new income streams by allowing them to share resources.
Living Care Pharmacy has operated 14 pharmacies in West Yorkshire for a number of years, as part of the Living Care Healthcare Group. Following a re-organisation within the group, six have been purchased by the Hub pharmacy; the remaining eight, located in Leeds and Wakefield, will continue to trade as part of Living Care Pharmacy, which will now be fully owned by the founding Lestner family.
David Lestner said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Hub pharmacy team and I know they are keen to build on the foundations of patient care that I and my staff have built up in Halifax. Working together with the Hub pharmacy team in TIPS will also be of great benefit to both companies and other independent pharmacies that choose to join TIPS.”
Steve Jeffers, CEO of Skelmersdale-based Hub pharmacy, said: “We will further build on the excellent foundations created by David and the Living Care Pharmacy team and, as with all our acquisitions, we will use our expertise to develop a wider range of pharmacy services for all the patients of Halifax. We also look forward to working alongside the Lestner family as part of TIPS. Given the funding pressures on community pharmacy, it is essential that independent pharmacy groups work together to secure optimal supplier arrangement, and share best practice on how to maximise pharmacy services and generate alternative income streams.”
The Hub pharmacy is backed by Bridges Ventures.
Oliver Wyncoll, a partner at Bridges Ventures, said: “We are delighted to be announcing this important acquisition, which takes ‘the Hub pharmacy’ to a total of 17 pharmacies. We continue to look for further opportunities to acquire and support with investment, in order to provide additional healthcare and pharmacy services to more communities in the North of England.”
Legal advice to the Hub pharmacy was provided on both transactions by Penningtons Manches’ Guilford office, led by Phil Walton, with additional banking facilities for the acquisition provided by HSBC’s Liverpool Commercial team led by Paul Hoarty.
Living Care Pharmacy was advised by Mark Booth, KPMG’s head of corporate finance in Liverpool, alongside Christian Mayo and Michael Downes, with legal advice from Tim Wheldon at Addleshaw Goddard in Leeds.
