Well Pharmacy

Background

In the early 2010s, the Group was actively looking to develop another UK business segment and identified the broader healthcare market as a preferred sector. In 2014, after a competitive bidding process against private equity firms, Bestway Group purchased The Co-Operative Group’s pharmacy business.

Bestway’s philosophy to work with and help the wider community in which it is based strongly aligned with the heritage and values of The Co-Operative Group’s Pharmacy business. The business was subsequently rebranded to Well Pharmacy.

In 2023, Well Pharmacy diversified into pharmaceutical wholesaling through the acquisition of Lexon.

Bestway Group has invested significantly into the UK pharmacy sector, its key investments include

• Acquisition of the Co-Operative Pharmacy (now Well Pharmacy) in 2014
• A number of bolt-on acquisitions
• Roll-out of state of the art PMR technology
• Implementation and roll-out of Centralised Dispensing capability
• Digital Pharmacy
• Set-up of Bestway Medhub, the business’ Wholesale division
• Acquisition of Lexon and John Bell & Croydon in 2023

Overview

Well Pharmacy is the UK’s 2nd largest retail pharmacy chain and 4th largest pharmaceutical wholesaler.

The business has a nationwide network of more than 750 branches and has been serving local communities with their healthcare needs for over 70 years and employs over 7,000 individuals in the UK.

It services its own branches, more than 360 care homes as well as over 5,500 independent pharmacies from 5 depots across the country, including a state of the art Healthcare Service Centre in Stoke-on-Trent which handles over 100 million items annually.

Well has a 5% share of the pharmacy sector and a patient base of 2 million for which it conducts c.400,000 consultations and dispenses over 72 million prescription items annually.