Quantuma appointed administrators to Romford pharmacy Clockhouse Pharmacy
Experts from business advisory firm Quantuma have been appointed joint administrators to Care Pharma (Romford) Ltd, trading as Clockhouse Pharmacy, a community pharmacy based in Romford.
Quantuma’s Rehan Ahmed and Gareth Peckett were appointed as joint administrators on 14 October 2026. The administration has secured the continuation of the pharmacy business, with 11 of the 12 employees transferring to the new owner under TUPE. One employee has been made redundant, which was unavoidable and outside the control of the administrators or the acquiring entity.
The business faced sustained financial pressure from Covid-related cost increases, locum reliance, medicine shortages and rising costs of medicines. Competitive pressure intensified in 2023–24 when two new pharmacies opened nearby, eroding prescription and private services income. Increased competition in the local market, the withdrawal of the invoice finance facility togther with rising interest rates compounded the difficulty. The final trigger came in early 2026 when an invoice finance creditor withheld payments, leaving the Company unable to purchase stock and ultimately rendering the business insolvent.
The appointment was made to provide a better return to the secured creditor, than would have been achievable in liquidation, and to rescue the business and preserve employment.
Rehan Ahmed, joint administrator and managing director at Quantuma, commented: “Clockhouse Pharmacy had served its local community for over a decade and the team continued to provide an important service to patients in Romford despite significant sector-wide pressures.”
“A combination of heightened local competition and the withdrawal of invoice finance left the business with no viable path forward. We are pleased that the administration has secured the best available outcome for the secured creditor and preserved the majority of jobs, ensuring continuity of pharmacy services for the local community.”
Gareth Peckett, joint administrator and managing director at Quantuma, added: “Independent pharmacies are under real pressure right now, squeezed between rising costs and increasing competition from well-capitalised chains. Clockhouse Pharmacy’s situation reflects a pattern we are seeing more frequently across the sector, and it underlines the importance of acting early when financial difficulty emerges.”
Zoe Oates, legal advisor and partner at Schofield Sweeney, said: “We are delighted to have assisted the administrators in completing this transaction, which has resulted in jobs being retained and continuity of service to the local community.”