Receiver appointed to 14 Munster pharmacies

A RECEIVER has been appointed to 14 pharmacies in the Munster area.

It is expected all of the pharmacies will be sold off as going concerns, a result of the receiver being appointed.

Paul McCann of Grant Thornton was appointed as receiver and manager to the 14 companies which are part of the IPOS pharmacy network, the independent pharmacy ownership scheme.

The pharmacies in Cork include Walsh’s Pharmacy, Carrigaline; Walsh’s Pharmacy, Dillon’s Cross; Walsh’s Pharmacy, Blarney; Walsh’s Pharmacy, Youghal; Walsh’s Pharmacy, Midleton; Walsh’s L&N, Ballincollig; Harte’s Pharmacy, Kinsale; Walsh’s Pharmacy, The Lough; Walsh’s Pharmacy, Macroom; Brosnan’s Pharmacy, Midleton; and Walsh’s Pharmacy, Mallow. Also included are Friary Pharmacy, Thurles; Friary Pharmacy, Cashel; and Friary Pharmacy at the Thurles Shopping Centre.

The receiver has been put in place by Bank of Scotland (Ireland). Grant Thornton said in a statement yesterday that the firms will continue trading as going concerns.

In total among the 14 shops, drug firm Uniphar has a 42% stakeholding but a spokesman for Uniphar said there will be no impact on the company as Uniphar has already provided for this situation in its 2008 accounts.

The receiver is expected to evaluate each store on a case by case basis in the coming weeks.

A source close to the situation said there was a lot of debt associated with the pharmacies in question but each store has the potential to trade as a good business once they have dealt with the debt issues.

Earlier this year Uniphar appointed Goodbody Corporate Finance to sell its shares in almost 150 pharmacies affiliated to IPOS.

The move came amid reports Uniphar is attempting to withdraw from the pharmacy market and focus on its core business of drugs distribution. Uniphar was one of the main backers of the IPOS scheme, which was designed to help pharmacists buy their own outlets.

However, the scheme was hit by the downturn and by the effect of cuts imposed by the Health Service Executive on drug margins.

A spokesperson from the Irish Pharmacy Union said they don’t comment on individual cases.