News Article

French healthcare group Hygie31 has continued its rapid expansion strategy with the acquisition of prominent Spanish pharmacy group CentralFarma.

The new structure will bring together more than 400 pharmacies and is expected to generate a turnover of over €600 million by the end of 2026. The move reinforces the group’s position as a leading consolidator in the pharmacy and health distribution sector, following its previous high profile backing by independent French private equity firm Latour Capital and French public investment bank Bpifrance. The acquisition is part of a broader trend of financial investors taking significant stakes in pharmacy groups to professionalise management and scale operations.

The integration of CentralFarma into the Hygie31 ecosystem allows the group to leverage its existing infrastructure, which already includes the Pharmacies Lafayette brand and the Pharmacorp network. By adding CentralFarma to its portfolio, Hygie31 enhances its ability to offer centralised services such as human resources management, accounting, and IT systems to its member pharmacies. This model allows individual pharmacies to maintain their professional independence while benefiting from the scale of a larger corporate entity.

While strict rules often govern equity participation in community pharmacies, Hygie31 has successfully utilised contractual relationships and financial support mechanisms to build a robust network. This approach has seen the group enable the acquisition of hundreds of pharmacies in recent years.

The acquisition of CentralFarma also highlights the increasing role of private equity and debt funds in the sector.