Husband and wife pharmacist team Sundeep and Ayoniza Saini have bought their second ex- LloydsPharmacy branch in the south of England, lender Christie Finance has reported.

The couple recently acquired the pharmacy in Fareham, Portsmouth. Westland Grove Pharmacy is co-located with Westlands Medical Centre.

This follows their previous acquisitions of Forest Pharmacy in Southampton and a former LloydsPharmacy branch in Swaythling, Southampton, both of which were initially bought on a leasehold basis before the pair acquired the freeholds.

“The sale comes on the back of [ LloydsPharmacy ’s] current strategy to reduce their number of sites across the UK, which has provided ample opportunity for independent buyers looking to expand,” said Christie Finance.

Richard Bruton, a consultant at Christie Finance, commented: “It has been a great experience working with Sundeep and Ayoniza over the last year. It started with plans for just one acquisition, but further opportunities arose as time went on and we managed to secure funding for all of them.”

Mr Saini commented: “It’s been a real journey in the last six months, where Richard helped us secure funding for three deals: the freehold purchase of a pharmacy and attached property and two Lloyds acquisitions.

“I found him very professional and trustworthy, providing us with enough information and support to decide on the best way of sourcing funding . He has in-depth knowledge of pharmacy P&L numbers and was able to work with minimum information provided by Lloyds.”