Phelan group sells 10 outlets in €20m deal with UniPhar
The Phelan pharmacy group sold 10 of its 12 outlets to UniPhar in a deal believed to be in the region of €20m.
Husband and wife team, pharmacist Conor Phelan and Denise, a pharmacist technician, built up their business from scratch over 15 years.
The couple are both County Waterford-born.
They set up their first shop in Carrigaline in 1988 and, as part of the transaction, will retain the primary base along with a second outlet in Glanmire.
Mr Phelan, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, confirmed yesterday there had been negotiations continuing for two years in relation to the sale of part of the group.
The company had been approached two years ago by a German pharmacy chain, Gehe, which currently controls over 50 outlets in Ireland.
“Before the UniPhar deal,” said 39-year-old Mr Phelan, “we were in protracted negotiations in 2001 with another group but it didn’t work out.
“Our preference, which was known publicly to prospective buyers, was to dispose of part of the group to an Irish distributor.
“We are pleased to have reached a deal with UniPhar, which is Irish-controlled.”
Mr Phelan said he and his wife plan to lighten the workload in the near future.
“We will take things a little easier,” he said, “but we will continue to run the Glanmire and Carrigaline shops.
“We were progressive but we were fortunate in that we had a good staff.”
The Phelan group was the first company in Cork to deliver a late night chemist service and its Wilton outlet remained open seven days weekly, including Christmas Day.
The group expanded rapidly throughout the early ’90s, focusing on both urban and rural locations.
The former Phelan group included Cork city centre shops along with outlets in large suburban and satellite towns such as Douglas, Cobh, Wilton, Ballintemple and Ballincollig.
Mr Phelan is a third generation pharmacist, following in the footsteps of his mother and grandfather.
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