Bestway Group’s Well Pharmacy announces new acquisitions

LONDON: The UK’s largest Pakistani-owned business Bestway Group subsidiary Well Pharmacy has announced the acquisition of Lexon UK Holdings and Asurex Limited, a family-owned pharmaceutical wholesaler — taking the total employment in the pharmacy sector to over 10,000 employees.

Lexon is a family-owned business that has been in operation for over 25 years. It operates primarily as a pharmaceutical wholesaler serving 3,000 retail pharmacy customers across the UK and Ireland from five sites. 

The business also operates 42 community pharmacies and is also a specialist developer and manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals and a data and solutions provider to pharmacies.

Haider Choudrey, Bestway Group CFO, said: “Through this acquisition, we seek to augment our growth momentum and bring in even greater benefits to both community pharmacies and patients. Well Pharmacy had been searching for a target to expand its footprint and complement its growth trajectory and we are confident that Lexon fits this criterion.”

Bestway Group is a diversified multinational family-owned business with annualised turnover in excess of £4.5 billion, with a customer base of over 12 million customers and employing over 28,000 individuals. 

The group owns Pakistan’s largest Cement Manufacturer Bestway Cement Limited and the second-largest private bank United Bank Limited (UBL). 

Well is the UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain, employing nearly 7,000 people and providing over 72 million prescriptions each year across our 750 pharmacies.

Seb Hobbs, CEO of Well Pharmacy, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming the 1,200-strong team at Lexon and Asurex to Well and the broader Bestway family, and are excited at the chance to grow our business to support even more customers and patients than ever before. We know that Lexon shares our ethos as a values-orientated family business and that by bringing together our expertise we will be able to grow all aspects of our business by building on each other’s strengths. These are incredibly challenging times for community pharmacy, so we’re really pleased to be able to have an opportunity to show our commitment to the sector, now and into the future.”

Anup Sodha, who remains Managing Director at Lexon, said: “Colleagues should look forward to a bright future, with the added security of being part of a larger group with the investment, opportunities and benefits that will provide. Both businesses, being independent and family-owned, share similar cultural values and have the common goal of providing exceptional service and value to the pharmacy, our patients and our supply chain.”