Just weeks after being acquired by private equity firm Aurelius Group, McKesson UK has announced that its Chief Executive Toby Anderson has stepped down with immediate effect after nearly four years leading the company.
Anderson joined McKesson UK in September 2018, moving from A.S. Watson, the owner of Superdrug, where he spent 12 years in various roles. He had previously worked for Sainsbury’s.
Dominik Meüser from Aurelius Group commented: “We are extremely grateful for the commitment Toby has demonstrated over the years to help us achieve the McKesson vision of becoming the UK’s leading healthcare organisation. His leadership, during a period of great uncertainty, has given us the solid foundations we can now build on to deliver sustained success in the future.
“As well as helping to turnaround the profitability of our business, Toby also oversaw our inspirational response to the Covid-19 pandemic, where we ensured that our customers and patients could continue to receive the vital medicines and services they needed.”
McKesson UK was acquired by Aurelius in a £477m deal, first announced in November last year. It included the sale of LloydsPharmacy, LloydsDirect, AAH Pharmaceuticals, LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare, LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, MASTA, and John Bell & Croyden by US group McKesson as part of its exit from the European region.
McKesson UK now operates the businesses with the backing of Aurelius. The new ownership is expected to enable the company to accelerate its transformation strategy, including a push into digital channels and building on its healthcare and NHS activities.
The UK operation generates sales of over £5bn a year. However, its LloydsPharmacy chain has been struggling with the tough conditions in the sector. It has closed hundreds of outlets in recent years, blaming government funding cuts and higher operating costs.
Accounts filed at Companies House last month showed operating losses at the pharmacy business had been reduced from £115.5m to £35.1m during the 12 months to 31 March 2021. However, turnover slipped 9.6% to £1.76bn as the company continued to sell off underperforming sites. LloydsPharmacy ended the year with 1,351 outlets, a reduction of 76 from the previous period as part of its “rationalisation programme”.
Reports this week suggested that a “substantial number” of LloydsPharmacy stores could be sold in the months ahead.
Meüser said yesterday: “We remain focussed on delivering great services for our customers and patients across our individual businesses. Through our core businesses – LloydsPharmacy, LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare, and AAH – we play a vital role in protecting the health of communities across the country, and we have an exciting opportunity to grow and improve our businesses even more over the next few years.”
