LloydsPharmacy has entered into liquidation, concluding the final stage of its year-long divestment campaign under private equity owner Aurelius.
The pharmacy group appointed Martin Armstrong and Andrew Bailey of Turpin Barker Armstrong Accountants on January 16 to handle the proceedings.
In its statement of affairs report, the liquidators revealed that the pharmacy business owes £293m to 514 creditors.
This includes £228m owed to former LloydsPharmacy owner Admenta UK, with £50m owed to Aurelius Crocodile – a holding company used to control the business.
However, the liquidators said just £8.2m of assets can be recovered for LloydsPharmacy’s “preferential creditors” and £800,000 for its unsecured creditors.
LloydsPharmacy was sold to investment firm Aurelius UK in 2021 for £477m. At the time, the healthcare chain employed more than 2,500 pharmacists at almost 1,300 pharmacies.
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The notice to appoint liquidators follows a year-long divestment campaign of its store estate of 1,054 high street and community pharmacies.
The programme concluded on November 26 when the pharmacy retailer exited the high street.
LloydsPharmacy’s holding company Hallo Healthcare said the pharmacies were “bought individually or in regional packages” by “independent pharmacy owners and local entrepreneurs”.
It added that over 6,500 branch colleagues were transferred across the branches were sold.
The healthcare chain’s owner began offloading its store estate early last year shortly after it announced it was shuttering all 237 of its branches inside Sainsbury’s in response to what it termed as “changing market conditions”.
Lloydspharmacy chief executive Kevin Birch stepped down from the business in May after just eight months at the helm.
His departure was joined by the sale of Hallo Healthcare’s private travel clinic company Masta to Irish-led travel group Nomad Travel.
A spokesperson for Hallo Healthcare Group said: “Whilst it may have left the high street, the LloydsPharmacy brand name and heritage remains in specialist pharmacy, clinical and digital healthcare.”
“Hallo Healthcare Group remains fully committed to the UK healthcare sector with teams across the group continuing to serve patients and customers through its network of specialist pharmacies, online doctor services and clinical homecare.”
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6 Comments. Leave new
How can this happen? Pharmacies are a licence to print money! Professional mismanaged accounting, hmmm . Agree with the comment from Don
Absolutely.
Government needs to put laws in place to plug the loopholes.
CEOs also owe their shareholders the responsibility of managing company balance sheets is ways that do not attract asset strippers or hostile take overs.
They need to manage liquid and near liquid assets to very minimal levels.
Your right. Same thing happening at Morrisons.
Let’s get back to independent pharmacies
Is it not time for the goverment to introduce some laws re Private Equity? They asset strip companies, claim tax relief on their debts and do not care about the staff.
Hear hear, but they won’t, none of the big parties.