Pharmacy Pulse Report Q4 2021

Uniphar and Navi

Uniphar has announced the acquisition of pharmacy services group Navi. Part of three acquisitions with combined revenue of €39 million, Navi’s high-tech distribution facilities and digital platforms will help bolster Uniphar’s community pharmacy sector offering.

Market Activity

Fitzgerald Power estimates 39 unit level changes of ownership during 2021. Despite the economic uncertainty over the past 2 years the Irish pharmacy M&A market has continued to perform strongly. Fitzgerald Power advised on 76% of the transactions in the Irish pharmacy market in 2021, in individual unit terms.

McKesson

McKesson has sold its UK Lloydspharmacy businesses to the private equity firm Aurelius Group for £477 million. The deal covers the company’s 1,325 pharmacies across the UK, wholesaler AAH, app LloydsDirect, Lloydspharmacy Online Doctor, travel health service MASTA and its John Bell & Croyden branch in London.

Fitzgerald Power Wages Report

Fitzgerald Power released The Irish Community Pharmacy Wages Report 2020/21 in January 2022. The report showed increasing wages across the sector, as supply constraints and general inflationary factors put upward pressure on wages.

COVID-19

From the 22nd January the Irish government began to remove all COVID-19 related restrictions. Ireland’s high vaccination rate, and a potentially less virulent new variant, led to the easing of restrictions.