Morrisons has started selling some of its in-store pharmacies, and hopes to have sold dozens of them by early 2027. The branches are being sold one by one to independent owners and will keep trading inside Morrisons supermarkets under their new owners’ branding.
Morrisons first put dozens of pharmacies on the market in February 2026, when Pharmacy Magazine counted 101 Morrisons branches on the General Pharmaceutical Council register. The Grocer reported on 28 September 2026 that sales have now begun.
The retailer has concluded that several branches would work better as independent community pharmacies, and that some are no longer financially viable under its own ownership. Neither the number of branches sold so far nor the buyers have been disclosed. In February, Morrisons said it had appointed property agents to handle the process.
Branch by branch, not a portfolio deal
The sale is being run one branch at a time rather than as a single block to a pharmacy chain. For shoppers, the counter stays in the same store; what changes is the name above it and the business behind it, unlike a franchised unit, where the fascia stays and the operator changes, as covered in the food and drink franchises recruiting in the UK. When the sale was first announced, Rami Baitiéh, chief executive of Morrisons, described it as a “necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons”.
The industry body reacted at the time: Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association, called it “another stark reminder of the huge financial strain that the community pharmacy sector is under”.
Part of a wider clear-out of the store
Morrisons says the aim is to streamline the business and concentrate on its core grocery operation. Baitiéh has described the wider plan as a drive to “renew and modernise Morrisons” across its supermarkets, online, convenience, pharmacy and manufacturing arms. Pharmacies are the latest department to go in a programme that has already closed cafés, Market Kitchens, florists, some convenience sites and selected fresh food counters.
Morrisons says the turnaround has delivered £995 million of cost savings, including £53 million in the latest quarter. Trading has held up: like-for-like sales rose 3.2% in the 13 weeks to 26 July 2026, the fifteenth consecutive quarter of growth, on total sales of £4.1 billion.
Where Morrisons does franchise
Morrisons supermarkets and their pharmacies are company-owned, and the pharmacy sales are outright disposals, not franchises, a distinction set out in what a franchise is.
The group’s convenience brand, Morrisons Daily, is franchised to forecourt operators and independent retailers. Its published criteria include a minimum of 1,200 sq ft for a neighbourhood store, or 1,000 sq ft on a forecourt, and a target of around £25,000 of weekly turnover, an entry route that turns on the site an applicant already holds, as being the right candidate to open a franchise discusses.
What to watch as the sales complete
The first completed deals will show whether the buyers are independent pharmacists or larger pharmacy groups. Morrisons has not said how many of its 101 branches it intends to keep, or whether the pharmacies it retains will be concentrated in its larger stores.
The timetable points to early 2027 for most of the disposals, and the retailer’s next trading statement is the likeliest place for an update on how many have been sold and what the savings add up to. Brands recruiting operators on published terms can be compared across the UK franchise directory.
