The announcement was made in a joint statement posted on both companies’ websites on October 5. Both pharmacies are expected over time to merge their operations under the Pharmacy2U brand, the statement said.

“We are delighted to welcome the LloydsDirect team into the Pharmacy2U family,” said P2U chief executive Kevin Heath.

“We have admired their significant achievements over the past eight years, in particular their innovation in patient experience and focus on sustainability. Combining the best of both of our businesses, we can provide patients with greater access and convenience,” he added.

“We believe this will be good for our patients and the work we do to support the NHS,” said LloydsDirect managing director Connie Cha.

Pharmacy2U dispensed 1,528,436 million items in June 2023, while LloydsDirect, previously owned by LloydsPharmacy, dispensed 1,142,891 million items, according to NHS Business Services Authority data published on the PharmData website.

This makes them by some distance the top two online prescription pharmacies for items dispensed, ahead of Well.co.uk in third place (128,691 items).

Pharmacy2U made a pre-tax profit of £2.9m from revenues of £165.1m for the year ended March 2022, according to the firm’s most recent Companies House filing.