Recent industry noise and rumours around the future of WBA resonated deeply with me until the (probably) inevitable announcement confirming ‘Sycamore Partners and WBA combine their retail and healthcare expertise to better position WBA to accelerate turnaround plan.’
‘Groundhog Day’ came the myriad of messages, voice notes and emails to me last week from ex colleagues and peers across the industry and I have read the press releases with interest.
All of which took me back to April 2022 and the purchase of McKesson UK by a private equity firm. I can still feel the worry and uncertainty that became part of all our lives, and it is fair to say that rumours and conjecture help nobody at this point.
Uncertainty leads to misinformation and can (and will) affect behaviours amongst the tens of thousands of colleagues who are affected by this news.
Read more: IN FULL: Boots’ parent company sold in $24bn private equity deal
Rest assured, colleagues and well-meaning loved ones will be reading and listening to everything and probably jumping to several conclusions about what this means for them. I hope by writing this article, I can relay some thoughts and facts from my lived experience and offer advice for the coming months.
The deal will take some time to complete and is undoubtedly different from my experience. Taking a company from public ownership back into private ownership takes time.
The two parties are currently in what is known as a ‘Go Shop Period’ which is expected to last until the last quarter of 2025. This could mean that another bidder comes into play. However, for the purposes of this article, I’m assuming the deal will go ahead as planned and by the end of the year Sycamore will own WBA.
Following that will be a period where Sycamore Partners truly figure out what they have purchased. During this time senior Boots personnel will have been given a ‘party’ line intended to steady the ship and all who sail in her. Firstly, it won’t and, secondly, trust that they don’t know any more than they are being told and are telling you.
Read more: WBA suspends dividends to ‘improve cash flow’ in 90-year first
From what I read Sycamore Partners don’t have healthcare experience but do have vast retail experience and the ‘fit’ of the two organisations appears good.
However, there will need to be a huge reliance on the senior team at Boots to deliver whatever plan transpires. These are the people that truly care, know and understand the colleagues and patients, and will prepare pharmacy teams for whatever difficult decisions will be coming down the line. And they will be difficult.
However, the focus for Sycamore will first and foremost be about growing the value of the enterprise they have acquired. That increase in value will almost certainly be through a growth strategy, but they will also have a keen eye for any possible efficiencies.
Read more: Boots pharmacists given pension update - as WBA sale reignites
Once the businesses have been picked over, various options of what to do will be worked through. Boots and LloydsPharmacy are/were not very alike (different business and investment model). I could envisage a different scenario playing out for the blue team, however, I am confident that in my time with private equity, we workshopped all scenarios for the future of a large community pharmacy organisation surviving and thriving in the present day
What is true/different this time around are the following. The position of community pharmacy in the healthcare ecosystem is even more challenged than it was three years ago. Hopefully a Labour government and ongoing funding negotiations (that are coming to a conclusion as mentioned by Wes Streeting) will bring some clarity soon.
Confusion and clarity
However, and very importantly, if, the Boots story ends up with the same outcome as LloydsPharmacy, this is now not unprecedented, and it is not the first rodeo for external stakeholders across all the nations impacted (there are a vast number) and significant lessons will have been learned.
The NHS England news from Thursday adds further confusion and unknowns into the mix and won’t be understood any time soon.
Read more: NHSE scrapped - what does pharmacy think?
My advice to the many colleagues out there considering what the next few months and year(s) will bring is to focus on what you can do and are in control of - continue to look after your patients to the usual excellent standard they rightly expect and secondly, consider your own personal circumstances and needs and make your decisions based on those needs alone.
Throughout my experience, the team and I that delivered the ‘plan’ were only shown respect, professionalism and kindness by the multitude of people we dealt with. They knew our focus was twofold, to maintain pharmaceutical services operating within all communities and to ensure as many branch based colleagues remained in employment as possible.
Finally, I am a community pharmacist, passionate about the accessibility of healthcare in the heart of the community delivered by a profession that I love.
I was trained at Nottingham University in the impressive shadow of Jesse Boots' legacy and undoubtedly this acquisition is another huge step in the changing face of community pharmacy.
However, whatever happens, we must remember whilst change is unsettling, opportunities will always arise, and this is what Sycamore Partners will be looking for to extract the best value they can from this deal.
Victoria Steele is the Founder and Director of Steelier Ltd, and was the superintendent pharmacist of LloydsPharmacy.
