Pharmacy2U.co.uk secures funding from the Healthcare Specialist Private Equity Firm – G Square to support rapid growth of online repeat prescription service
Pharmacy2U, the UK’s largest NHS online pharmacy, has secured a further £40 million investment to support the rapid growth of its online NHS repeat prescription service. This financing is led by G Square, a London-based private equity firm with an investment strategy dedicated to healthcare in Europe. G Square becomes the majority shareholder of Pharmacy2U. A current investor, the Business Growth Fund (BGF) also participated in the financing. Pharmacy2U services also include a private online doctor service with registered GPs and its sister company ChemistDirect.co.uk who provide a wide range of over the counter medicines and general healthcare products.
Pharmacy2U’s repeat prescriptions service has seen its customers surge by 178% over the past 12 months, with more than 25,000 new patients registering in the last month alone, making Pharmacy2U the fastest growing pharmacy group[1] in the country.
This journey started when Pharmacy2U, a founding partner to the NHS in developing the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), assisted the NHS in the first pilot programme. Patients register and order their medication with Pharmacy2U, Pharmacy2U then takes care of the rest from arranging the prescription with their GP to delivery to their door, as well as reminding them to reorder so they do not run out. Managing repeat prescriptions online through the technology-driven health service is estimated to save GPs six hours and 40 minutes a week on paperwork and the NHS over £300 million a year on medication costs. Customer data found Pharmacy2U to be convenient, efficient & modern with 89% finding it more convenient than traditional methods. Pharmacy2U has more than 48,000 reviews on TrustPilot with over 90% of patients rating it as “excellent” or “great”.
The £40 million capital increase will see Pharmacy2U invest further in technology to ensure its infrastructure keeps pace with customer demand and continues to bring much needed innovation to healthcare. Its state-of-the-art, award winning dispensing hub is already the biggest and most advanced in the UK, capable of dispensing one million prescription items each month. Pharmacy2U will also continue to educate patients on how technology can help simplify and improve the way they manage their health & medication.
Mark Livingstone, CEO of Pharmacy2U, comments: “Pharmacy2U has enjoyed a phenomenal period of high growth and we’re delighted to have secured investment from healthcare specialist investor G Square, which will help us continue to innovate and improve our service for our patients. Technology has transformed industries from retail and entertainment to travel and leisure and it is now making a significant and much needed mark on healthcare. We are on a mission to help improve patient outcome in partnership with the NHS by managing repeat prescriptions from request to delivery. The service relieves both the time and stress put on GPs, represents better value to the NHS and improves patients’ medicine adherence.”
Dr Laurent Ganem, Founder and CEO of G Square adds: “We are delighted to complete this investment in Pharmacy2U: we believe that its technology and services participate in positively disrupting the healthcare industry in the UK. We are much impressed with Pharmacy2U’s speed of growth, momentum in the sector, and remarkable customer experience. The management team headed up by Mark Livingstone have done a fantastic job in developing and growing the business so far.”
Ted Smith joins the Board of Directors as Non-Executive Chairman. Ted started his career as a Pharmacist and spent over 20 years with Boots the Chemist, he was also a member of the council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and is an Operating Partner of G Square. Ted says: “I am very excited to be part of this fascinating journey which will impact positively on patient experience and help reduce the strain on the NHS”
For information about Pharmacy2U, visit: www.pharmacy2u.co.uk
[1] Based on the growth of patient electronic prescription nominations – Nominations by dispenser: https://digital.nhs.uk/Electronic-Prescription-Service/statistics-and-progress