All 10 of the Isle of Man's Lloyds Pharmacy branches have been sold.

Northern Ireland chain Clear Pharmacy is set to take over all of the company's pharmacies after the sale went through 'a couple of weeks ago' Up until the acquisition, Lloyds Pharmacy owned and operated almost half of the pharmacies on the Isle of Man, mainly due to the fact that the firm's 'original owners lived on the island', according to the Isle of Man Pharmacy Contractors Association 

But over the last 18 months, a number of the island's Lloyds branches have been forced to close or operate on reduced hours due to staff and stock shortages

Lloyds Pharmacy’s previous owner, Mckesson, sold all of its UK businesses to the Hallo Healthcare group back in April 2022.

Since then, Hallo have gradually sold-off portions of Lloyds' network of community pharmacies across the UK, including all of the Lloyd’s Pharmacy branches located inside UK Sainsbury’s stores, in order to focus on the wholesale section of its business operation. 

This includes AAH pharmaceuticals wholesaler, which supplies the majority of the Isle of Man's pharmacies out of its Warrington depot. Hallo Healthcare Group, Lloyds' parent company, announced this week that it had sold all of the 1,054 community pharmacies that operated under the Lloyds Pharmacy brand, completing the total withdrawal of the UK’s second largest pharmacy chain from the high street.

A spokesperson for Hallo Healthcare Group said: ‘The main priority has always been to keep pharmacies open and central to their communities, whilst ensuring ongoing employment for colleagues.’

Ian Hemensley, a spokesman for the Isle of Man Pharmacy Contractors Association, welcomed the takeover, saying the move should restore stability to the island's pharmacy network after 'a prolonged period of uncertainty'. 

He said that association's committee wished to thank all Lloyds staff for 'stepping up and coping so well with the extra pressure and workload' that arose during the last 18 months of disruption during what was a 'difficult period' for the industry on the island.