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Administrators appointed in April to take over the holding company for a Scottish pharmacy chain have said they expect to rescue it as a going concern but have “unfortunately” had to make 17 employees redundant in order to manage costs.

Administrators from business advisory firm BDO LLP were brought in earlier this year to assess options for the future running of Amiry & Gilbride Healthcare Limited (A&G), which was established in 2023 for the purposes of acquiring a number of ex-LloydsPharmacy stores.

The administrators said in a June report that A&G has had “poor” trading performance since its incorporation and relied on cash injections from Rossinver, a company owned by John Gilbride, who is also a director at A&G alongside Mahyar Nickkho-Amiry and Audrey Gilbride.

They wrote: “In late 2025, the Rossinver management team became concerned as to the level of funds advanced to the A&G Pharmacy Group and it was apparent that this support would need to continue to avoid increasing cashflow pressure on the A&G Pharmacy Group.

“These factors led to growing concerns by Rossinver as to the financial management of the A & G pharmacy group and Mr Amiry was notified in January 2026 that Rossinver would no longer support the trading of the group.”

Rossinver then sought repayment of £1,875,012 from the company, and when no payment proposals were forthcoming then successfully applied to the Court of Session for an administration order.

Since their appointment, the administrators have sought to establish the company’s financial position and restructure its cost bases. They also reported having to make 17 of the company’s 219 employees redundant as a cost-saving effort. 

Mr Gilbride was described as handling day-to-day operations while the administrators work to sell A&G, and has also advanced upwards of £600,000 to “alleviate financial pressures” since the administrators’ appointment.

The administrators proposed to manage the company’s affairs and properties and pursue a sale of its assets, namely its shareholdings in pharmacy businesses LPN14 and LPN15, which collectively comprise 15 NHS pharmacies and three private pharmacies. 

Their proposals were approved following a July 7 meeting.

Related: Pharmacies sold out of administration after falling into arrears with wholesalers