Growth capital investor Beringea has exited its investment in APM Healthcare through the sale of business to national pharmacy chain, Day Lewis Pharmacy.
Day Lewis will take over APM Healthcare’s 18 UK pharmacies, which it runs in Joint Venture Partnerships with GP Practices across the country.
Trading under the name Community Pharmacies, APM Healthcare was founded in 2009. Beringea initially invested in the company in 2011, when APM was on the verge of expanding its network from just one pharmacy having secured a number of deals with local doctors. The expertise of Andrew Murray – who previously founded and built Assura Pharmacy, part of the FTSE listed Assura Group – helped to extend the network to what it is today. Beringea made a number of follow on investments to support the growth, totalling £2m in equity as well as debt financing.
The deal has generated a 3x return for Beringea, and will help Day Lewis to extend its services to over three hundred pharmacies across the UK.
“We’ve seen APM Healthcare grow into an incredibly successful business over the course of our six year relationship,” says Steven Tuckley, Chief Financial Officer at Beringea LLP. “Andrew’s experience has been invaluable to the business, making for a strong and well-researched proposition, tight control on operational costs, and the ability to secure partnerships with the NHS. This, combined with having a clear exit strategy from the beginning, has made APM Healthcare an excellent investment for Beringea.
“As part of Day Lewis, APM can continue delivering a first class service to patients and we’re excited to see how they develop together going forward.”
Day Lewis is an independent, family-owned business that has been operating in the pharmaceutical sector for over forty years. The acquisition of APM will help the business reach more health centres and GP surgeries, working to improve pharmacy facilities to more NHS patients.
Andrew Murray, Managing Director of APM Healthcare, says: “This deal will give our pharmacies broader operational expertise, and the alignment in our cultures and business goals will also ensure our people get the support they need to continue offering exemplary service to patients. We’re incredibly grateful to Beringea for its support in our growth so far, which would have been simply unachievable without them, and we look forward to the journey ahead with Day Lewis.”
