Co-operative Pharmacy chain to be rebranded
The Co-operative Pharmacy is to be rebranded by its new owner Bestway Group.
After acquiring the pharmacy chain for £620 million last year, the group is planning to relaunch the business under the new name of Well.
Well chief executive John Nuttall said: “Community pharmacies can play a key role in easing the increasingly unsustainable pressures faced by frontline NHS services, beyond simply providing prescriptions.
“Bestway Group’s major investment will not only create new jobs, it will also enable the business to develop the role of the pharmacy team to provide personalised healthcare and deliver an excellent patient experience, improving health and reducing health inequalities in local communities in the process.”
Well is planning to increase the chain’s revenues to £1 billion by 2019, from the current £750 million. It will also invest £200 million in expanding the brand over the next five years and will spend £1.6 million on new headquarters in Manchester where 227 staff from the current Co-operative Group head office will be relocated.
Zameer Choudrey, chief executive of Bestway Group, said: “We are very pleased to announce and launch Well; and excited to begin rolling out the next chapter of this fantastic business’ story. We are confident in the new branding that has been created and have no doubt that it has a bright future ahead.
“Moreover, we have pledged to give Well strong support by committing to invest £200 million over the next five years to help develop and grow the business, and to make sure Well continues to serve its customers and local communities to the high standard the business has always delivered.”
