// Lloyds Pharmacy will close 237 branches inside Sainsbury’s stores over the year
// The pharmacy says the move is down to “changing market conditions”
Lloyds Pharmacy is to close all of its branches inside Sainsbury’s stores, which puts 2,000 jobs on the line.
It will close the 237 outlets over the course of the year in response to “changing market conditions”.
The company said it was “working with colleagues potentially affected by the changes and has underlined its commitment to support them through the process”.
The pharmacist is “currently exploring options for each individual branch”, as it attempts to offload them.
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Lloyds Pharmacy’s parent company bought Sainsbury’s 280-store pharmacy chain in 2015 for £125m when it transferred around 2,500 staff to its business.
Private equity firm Aurelius snapped up Lloyds Pharmacy last year.
Lloyds Pharmacy chief executive Kevin Birch said: “This decision has not been an easy one and we understand that our patients and customers may have questions about how the change will affect them.”
“We would like to thank them for their continued support and assure them that we are committed to providing a smooth transition over the coming months.”
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