Donald Munro, the Scottish pharmaceuticals entrepreneur, is likely to have netted another multi-million pound fortune by selling the bulk of his family-owned whole- saling operation to a German rival.
The East-Kilbride based Munro group completed the sale of the division to Phoenix Group, which is one of the five biggest wholesalers in Europe, yesterday.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
However, with the division expected to achieve record sales of £150m in the current year, the unit is likely to have commanded an eight-figure price tag.
The division has warehouses in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Confirmation of the deal came three weeks after The Herald revealed that Munro was in talks to sell the wholesaling business to Phoenix, after unloading his retail pharmacy chain to the German owners of the Lloyds chemists' chain.
A source said the sale of the retail arm netted Munro £20m-plus, some 49 years after he opened his first chemists in Glasgow.
The timing of that deal meant the Munro family were spared the effects of controversial changes to the Capital Gains Tax regime which took effect on April 6. These could result in the tax rate payable on gains increasing from 10% to 18%.
Law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing, which advised on the wholesale deal, said Munro group would continue to operate through its Strathclyde (Pharmaceuticals) Limited business, shifting its focus on to short-line wholesaling of branded and generic products.
Short-line wholesalers focus on a limited range of frequently prescribed products. Full-line wholesalers supply a wider range of products.
Aged 71, Donald Munro will continue to head the group board, along with managing director John Cochrane and Tony Baxter who joined the board in 2004 as part of a restructuring and expansion programme.
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