Sainsbury’s has handed over control of its 281 pharmacies to Celesio-owned LloydsPharmacy today following last year’s acquisition.

LloydsPharmacy has acquired Sainsbury's pharmacies

LloydsPharmacy has acquired Sainsbury’s pharmacies

LloydsPharmacy has taken control over Sainsbury’s pharmacies

Pharmacy giant Celesio UK snapped up Sainsbury’s pharmacies last year in a deal worth £125m, and this morning, more than 2,500 former Sainsbury’s pharmacy staff joined the LloydsPharmacy network. 

Four hospital pharmacies have also been transferred as part of the transaction.

Each Sainsbury’s store will be visited by a LloydsPharmacy area manager and an integration coach within the first week to ensure that the transition is a smooth one.

Quick changeover

Overnight, 277 in-store pharmacies received new counter and point of sale materials. Pharmacy customers will be handed new bags and labels as of today and an eight month rebranding programme has begun.

The pharmacy hand over comes just a day before Sainsbury’s is expected to complete its £1.4bn aquisition of Home Retail Group’s Argos.

LloydsPharmacy managing director Cormac Tobin said: “I’m delighted that today we can officially welcome our new colleagues from Sainsbury’s as they become part of the Celesio UK family of businesses, and make a wonderful addition to our LloydsPharmacy retail network of stores.

“Sainsbury’s is a fantastic fit for us, we share similar values and aspirations and we are both passionate about excellent customer service and making a positive impact on the communities we serve.

”Together we will create even greater opportunities and give our customers and patients compelling reasons to come back to us time and time again.”

With the addition of Sainsbury’s pharmacies, there are now around 1,800 LloydsPharmacy branches employing more than 19,000 people.

Earlier this year, the Competition and Markets Authority gave the aquisition a conditional green light, but said LloydsPharmacy must first sell pharmacies in 12 areas to satisfy competition concerns.