Celesio has been given the go ahead to acquire the Sainsbury’s pharmacy business in a £125 million deal that was first announced last year.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved the acquisition on 29 July, meaning that from 1 September, 277 in-store and four hospital pharmacies will be rebranded and 2,700 Sainsbury’s pharmacy employees will join the LloydsPharmacy workforce.

The CMA has identified 12 local areas where the acquisition of Sainsbury's pharmacies may be expected to result in a lessening of competition. As a result, Celesio will be "working over the coming months to remedy the situation and ensure that LloydsPharmacy colleagues in the affected areas are supported during the transition", and some pharmacies will be sold.

Cormac Tobin, managing director of LloydsPharmacy and Celesio UK, said that Sainsbury’s customers will benefit from LloydsPharmacy’s service-led approach and the roll out of pain management, skin health, type 2 diabetes testing, asthma control checks and blood pressure checks to branches.

He added that: “Sainsbury’s is a leading UK retailer, which has created an attractive pharmacy business. As a specialist pharmacy operator we can build on this strong foundation to offer Sainsbury’s customers a more enhanced health offering. We also gain access to new customer groups and to new locations where LloydsPharmacy’s physical bricks and mortar presence is not currently as strong.”