With pharmacies being squeezed financially, owners are increasingly looking to introduce private services to produce the profits needed to grow their business.

First-time pharmacy owner Mohammed Moyeed tells C+D he’s been doing the same, but he’s also introduced a new revenue stream to become less reliant on the pharmacy sector.

“When I started in the Co-op Pharmacy, they used to have a Post Office,” says Moyeed. “I locumed and would see the footfall it brought in.”

Moyeed is originally from Peterborough, but moved to the port town of Immingham in North East Lincolnshire when he bought an ex-Lloyds branch, now Immingham Pharmacy, in August 2024.

Read more: Behind the counter: Humberston Pharmacy, Grimsby

“When I was buying it, I thought ‘what else can be added to this business?’ because you can’t rely on the pharmacy these days.”

The town’s Post Office had shut down in 2023 leaving the town without one. With infrequent bus services to nearby village branches unhelpful for the elderly population, and a decent drive away from a larger Post Office in Grimsby, Moyeed says there was “a need” to open a new one.

“So, I applied for it. The idea was to get more people into the premises so they can see the good service we provide on the pharmacy.”

Launch

Moyeed bought Immingham Pharmacy with his business partner and fellow pharmacist Sami Syed, and he relishes that “you can make decisions rather than working for somebody”.

“It’s a good thing as a pharmacist and I enjoy it more, but the funding model has to be sustainable,” he says.

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“I have huge overhead costs, business rates, rent and every year the salary is going up and bills are going up. It is very hard.”

Moyeed said the application process for the Post Office is long, with the postmaster training taking him to other branches to see how operations work.

Before the Post Office opened in May 2025, he worked out what part of the shop floor to lose and what retail products to stop stocking to make space.

Read more: Behind the counter: Penclawdd Pharmacy, Wales

“I had to invest money to get the counters and refitting. The idea was to have a flow, where the team should be able to jump between both counters.

“Then, obviously training the team to take on the Post Office side. The vision was to bring the footfall, which it has.”

Growth

With the increased footfall, it’s helped to boost the pharmacy’s prescription numbers, up from 5,000 items per month when Moyeed opened Immingham Pharmacy to now reaching 7,000.

“With flu jabs, we did really well. We came up to 1,000 in the last flu season.

“The people who would not normally come to the pharmacy, now they come to the Post Office, and they see we do the flu and Covid jabs, walk-ins, travel clinic, Pharmacy First, minor ailments.”

Read more: Behind the counter: Charles Michie’s Pharmacy, Aberdeen

The extra footfall has pushed Moyeed to introduce more private services, and he’s invested more money into building another small consultation room and installing a digital screen advertising the pharmacy’s services.

The pharmacy has also added an app to “win back all those online pharmacy customers”.

He’s been improving the Post Office’s services too. After just offering Royal Mail services, he’s introduced banking services as the nearest banks are in Grimsby.

Read more: Behind the counter: Pharmacy+Health, Harrogate

It means Moyeed is now recruiting for a part-time staff member to join the full-timer for the Post Office to meet the demand, and he’s also taking on two apprentices to train them up as dispensers for the pharmacy.

 “It’s such a busy place. Patient love having both and really support it.”

Expansion

Despite diversifying his business, he believes “there needs to be more voices raising pharmacy’s problems” as he feels the public don’t understand the sector’s issues.

“The amount of people who rely on pharmacies is tremendous because obviously GPs have their own problems, but I feel we are underrepresented in our problems.

“It’s more than a business, it’s a service for the community and an essential need.”

Read more: Behind the counter: Malmesbury Pharmacy, Wiltshire

But even with Immingham Pharmacy growing, there is no complacency from Moyeed to settle for how things are.

“Diversifying more is the plan,” he says. “The funding model for the Post Office is not that great either.

“Now, we are working on getting a private GP to come in once a week because I see a demand for that.”

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He wants to add other services such as chiropody and physiotherapy, so it becomes more of a health hub for the town.

“I’m happier selling the services rather than shampoos and toiletries. Ideally, the pharmacy should be a practice rather than a shop”.

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It comes as three former Day Lewis pharmacy staff are enjoying a change from dispensing drugs to brewing coffee as they opened a new café in Cleethorpes, a neighbouring town to Immingham.

C+D visited Humberston Pharmacy in Grimsby last year and spoke to one of its owners about Lloyds, GPs, technicians, and why she never wants to be a 20,000-item dispensing pharmacy.