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The Sharief Group, owners of the rapidly expanding Allied Pharmacies chain, made a £1.1m profit in the 2024-25 financial year, its latest accounts reveal.  

The Merseyside-headquartered group’s accounts, published on January 3, report how the company’s “expanded scale” helped to “enhance resilience” compared to “smaller operators” in the year to March 31, 2025 and reverse a £1.3m loss incurred in 2023-24. 

Gross profit stood at £44.2m, up from £32.6m the previous year, while operating profit grew significantly year-on-year from £164,000 to £3.9m. 

There was a 34.4 per cent rise in turnover from £95.2m to £138m, while EBIDTA rose from £6.3m to £8.3m.  

While the accounting period referred to in the report ended months before the late-2025 acquisition of 129 branches formerly owned by the troubled Jhoots Pharmacy chain, the filing suggests the chain’s expansion plans already formed a key strategy pillar.

“During the 2024-25 financial year, the business continued to generate additional value from its established and well-respected brand together with its existing operating infrastructure,” said Sharief’s directors.  

They added: “The group’s expanded scale provides enhanced resilience against the sector’s financial pressures.”

The latest round of Jhoots acquisitions have brought the total Allied Pharmacies store footprint to 173.

The directors described 2024-25 as a “pivotal period” for the pharmacy sector, principally due to the Pharmacy First rollout and the new contractual settlement announced in March 2025. 

Allied Pharmacies branches delivered over 1.9 million Pharmacy First clinical pathway consultations in 2024-25, according to the Companies House filing. 

But they added that despite the funding uplift, “the pressures of sustained inflation, increased National insurance contributions, national living wage increases and a shortage of key skills have had an impact on margins across the sector”. 

The directors commented on their plans to “advocate actively” for funding that “reflects the true full economic cost of service delivery,” and to invest in digital infrastructure.

They also outlined plans to review their store portfolio and “focus on viable locations” as the group “continues to pursue growth opportunities through acquisition and through strong relationships with its suppliers to generate a more efficient supply chain”. 

“The group’s scale provides resilience in navigating the challenging funding environment that has affected smaller operators across the sector,” the report stated.  

The directors described how they “pursue a strategy of selective growth through both the development of existing branches and the acquisition of branches with opportunities for synergy within the portfolio, while maintaining disciplined financial management”.

The Sharief Group has been approached for comment.