Closure threat hangs over chemist shops

Published on 19th April 2007 in News

Union leaders announced this week that two community pharmacies in Howden and Gilberdyke could be under threat of closure if a multi-billion pound takeover of high street company Boots goes ahead - but company chiefs have fiercely denied the claims.

The warning was issued by Britain's general union, GMB, in response to a possible £10.1 billion private equity deal for the Boots chain, which last year joined forces with Alliance Unichem to form Alliance Boots.

It is feared that more than 130 small pharmacies across the country could be at risk of closure if the deal goes ahead, and GMB leaders say Boots would be forced into the move to pay off debts it would incur from the take over.

The Alliance Pharmacies in Scalby Lane, Gilberdyke and Bridgegate, Howden have been listed as those in East Yorkshire that are under threat, as well as a number of other pharmacies in North Yorkshire.

There are also concerns about the fact that Boots is a major supplier of medicines to the NHS, and the GMB has made calls for Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Health, to use her powers to delay the projected takeover of Boots.

Paul Maloney, GMB national secretary, said: "Patricia Hewitt needs to ask Boots, a major supplier of medicines to the NHS, how the sums add up for the taxpayers, one of Boots largest customers. She also needs to ask how many hundreds of their local pharmacies, which have served local communities for many decades, will be forced to close to pay the interest bills."

But a spokesperson for Alliance Boots told the Goole Times this week that a closure of any stores was "not part of current management plans." A spokesperson for Alliance Boots' largest shareholder, Stefano Pessina, has also spoken out nationally and shunned any news of potential closures.

The spokesperson said: "I can categorically state that community pharmacies are the backbone of our business and we have no intention of closing any.

"To suggest that 130 are at risk is nonsensical."