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Independent pharmacy group Cohens Chemist has bought up the Whittles Pharmacies estate of eight pharmacies in the North West of England, allowing the former owners to retire.  

The family-owned Whittles Pharmacies chain was first set up by brother and sister duo Umesh and Vil Patel 27 years ago, and was bought by Cohens Chemist for an undisclosed price, said broker Christie & Co. 

The Whittles group dispenses "over 65,000 items per month" across eight pharmacies, the broker added.

Jon Booth, pharmacy director at Christie & Co, said: “This has been a fantastic project to work on alongside the Whittle directors.

“Since we first met with them in the summer of 2024 to discuss an exit strategy, right through to completion of this sale to Cohens Chemist, they have approached the process with pragmatism and a sense of fun, even when there were setbacks along the way.”

Mr Booth said there was significant interest in the business, with “in excess of 30 partiers” making offers for individual sites as well as smaller sub-groups of stores.

This level of interest “demonstrates that the North West market remains robust and is highly competitive for buyers,” he continued, adding: “We are looking forward to seeing how the Patel family’s 27-year legacy within these pharmacies moves forward under Cohens Chemist’s ownership and wish the directors of Whittle and their fellow shareholders the very best in retirement.”

Colin Caunce, business development director at Cohens Chemist, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Whittle Pharmacies group into the Cohens Chemist family and look forward to continuing the excellent community care built over the past 27 years. 

“These are well-established local pharmacies, and our priority is to ensure patients continue to receive the same trusted service.”

Umesh and Vil Patel commented: “When we started the business 27 years ago, our intentions were to run a great pharmacy business and to look after our patients as we would want our parents to be looked after. 

“We wanted to enjoy the journey and to try to aim for an earlier retirement. We were blessed in having the most amazing work colleagues an patients, and many of our colleagues are still with us from the beginning, with others joining along the way. 

“We retire leaving a part of ourselves and a solid pharmacy business. We shed some tears saying goodbye to our colleagues, but we will keep the greatest memories and friendships.

“The new owners are very similar to us, and we know that they share the same vision for pharmacy. We made our parents proud.”

Related: Clear Pharmacy exits Scottish market to focus on its other branches 

Losses at Cohens deepen to £7.8m as directors consider branch sales