The Glasgow-based firm is expanding after it used the funding to acquire McNish Pharmacy in Caldercruix, Airdrie, which has been part of the community for 12 years.

The business will retain all eight existing McNish Pharmacy staff members. It will also use the funding to offer further training to enable registered technicians at the pharmacy to undertake final accuracy checks on dispensed prescriptions, which will improve the efficiency of service.

The acquisition of this latest 300sq ft store continues the group’s growth plan to expand across Scotland’s central belt.

Rickey Pooran, co-owner of Eastwood Pharmacy, explained: “A lot of the burden of checking off prescriptions sits on the pharmacists’ shoulders, which can add strain to their workload, with other colleagues unable to help.

“As we take ownership of this pharmacy, we hope that locals will benefit from an enhanced service as we upskill staff to enable them to clinically assess and dispense prescriptions.

“HSBC UK has continually backed our ambitious growth plans. The 48-hour credit check that they offered us meant that we could confidently compete against some of the larger pharmacy companies across Scotland and go in with a strong offer in order to acquire McNish Pharmacy.”

Kevin Mckenna, relationship director at HSBC UK, added: “We are pleased to support such an ambitious business in Scotland. Through its expansion plans, Eastwood Pharmacy has shown that it is keen to carry on growing for years to come.”

The new pharmacy takes the group’s total number of pharmacies in Scotland to seven and adds to Eastwood’s growing portfolio across Scotland, made up predominantly of sites across the central belt, in Glasgow, North Berwick and Ayrshire.