Peak Pharmacy parent company PCT Healthcare acquired the Murray’s pharmacy group on Monday March 15 in a move that will boost PCT’s portfolio to 150 pharmacies.

PCT Healthcare said the acquisition of Murray’s 25 pharmacies and more than 230 staff, which will take the PCT group’s total workforce to 1,600, would “help secure the immediate future of the Murray’s branches” amid acute funding pressures, and would “further strengthen the long-term position of the PCT Healthcare group”.

The Murray’s estate is concentrated in the West Midlands, with the first branch having been established in Tipton in 1920. Current owner Duncan Murray is the third generation of the family to run the business.

PCT Healthcare director Joe Cattee said: “Despite its growth and the changing aspects of pharmacy, PCT Healthcare remains a family-owned business and we constantly do our best to apply our family values to drive the business in the right direction.

“This year has been the hardest we’ve faced in community pharmacy, and the hard work which our colleagues within PCT Healthcare, as well as the Murray’s group, have undertaken to prioritise our patients has been admirable.

“We are therefore delighted to welcome the Murray’s staff into PCT Healthcare and look forward to continuing to lead the way within the pharmacy network." 

Duncan Murray said: “We look forward to being part of the PCT Healthcare team and feel confident they will take the business forward to the next stage of its exciting growth journey.”