Dozens of Lloyds Pharmacy branches across the North East and beyond are at risk of being closed down, according to reports.
The chain is the UK's second-largest pharmacy chain behind Boots, with around 1,300 shops throughout the UK, including dozens in Newcastle, Sunderland, County Durham and Northumberland. Lloyds had already announced earlier this year that will be closing all of its 237 pharmacies located in Sainsbury’s supermarkets by the end of the year, including those in Team Valley, Durham, Heaton and two in Sunderland.
The closures inside Sainsbury's will put around 2,000 jobs on the line UK-wide, and the news that the entire UK store base is at risk of closure is another blow for the high street. Lloyds, with 17,000 employees across the business, dispenses around 150m prescriptions a year.
