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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Pharmaceuticals and healthcare |
Predecessor | Amalgamated Anthracite Holdings Limited |
Founded | 29 June 1923 |
Headquarters | Coventry, England, United Kingdom |
Number of locations | 13 depots |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | David Bound (CEO) Brian Chambers (CCO) John Clark (COO) |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Owner | Hallo Healthcare Group[2] |
Number of employees | 3,032 (2019)[1] |
Website | AAH |
AAH is a pharmaceutical wholesaler in the United Kingdom. Originally formed in 1892 as a company selling solid fuels in South Wales, it was floated on the stock exchange in 1923. It diversified into pharmaceuticals in the 1970s. The company at one time was the leader in distributing drugs in the United Kingdom, have a 40% share in 2009.[3]
History
[edit]AAH originated in 1892, when Cleeves Company was formed in Wales, owning about 7,000 acres of land. It merged with two local companies, Gurnos and Gellveeidrim, to form Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Limited.[4] The formation of Amalgamated Anthracite and competitor United Anthracite in 1923 marked the end of an era of small firms in the Welsh coal industry.[5] As of 1928, Amalgamated Anthracite had become the dominant coal producer in Wales, controlling about 75% of production capacity by 1933.[5] In the 1930s, Amalgamated Anthracite was unusual in selling coal through its own agents rather than through coal brokers.[6]
In 1954, it was agreed to change the company name to Amalgamated Anthracite Holdings Limited (AAH). In early 1971 the company abbreviated its name to AAH Limited. The company diversified after the collapse of English coal production in the 1920s to include health services, building materials, transport, warehousing and environmental services (landscape conservation and waste disposal).
The Chairman of the company in the 1920s was Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett,[7] and the firm was floated on the Stock Exchange on 29 June 1923, having been registered as a public company on 16 June 1923.[8] The registered office was 29/30 King Street, Cheapside, London. Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Limited held its first company meeting on 5 September 1923 at the Cannon Street Hotel.
From mid-1925 to at least the end of 1926, all coal mining activities in England had ceased, resulting in major financial problems for the industry.[9] This was a driving force behind the eventual merger with United Anthracite Collieries Limited.[9] On 1 July 1927, the company merged with United to become known as A.A.C Anthracite, based at 120 Fenchurch Street.
In 1976, AAH sold off its interests in fuel and building materials. Healthcare services became the company's main business activity. AAH expanded its pharmaceutical interest by taking over a large number of businesses including Chemists Holding and Hills Pharmaceuticals.
AAH Limited became a constituent company of AAH Holdings in 1981, based in London. In 1985 the headquarters of AAH Holdings plc moved to the south of Lincoln. By the late 1980s, when based in Lincoln, the holding company was turning over £1 billion, though the turnover for the pharmaceutical section was only in the range of £20 million.[10]
In 1985 AAH acquired pharmaceutical wholesaler Vestric Limited from Glaxo P.L.C., which continued the company's growth and led to the formation of AAH Pharmaceuticals Limited.
As of 1990, the firm's Chairman was Dr. Peter Worling.[11] In 1991, AAH arranged to distribute drugs marketed by ICI to hospitals in Britain, while ICI retained distribution logistics to pharmacies in the country.[12]
In 1999 the headquarters moved to Coventry,[13] where it remains as of 2023.
As of late 2000, the company was referred to as "the British wholesale and distribution arm of ... Gehe AG".[14] By 2007, the company was "part of the German drug wholesaler Celesio".[15] AAH entered into a partnership with Alliance Boots in 2007 for exclusive distribution of AstraZeneca products in the United Kingdom,[15] activities slated to begin in 2008.[16] This deal, alongside Pfizer's contemporaneous drug distribution deal with Unichem, was controversial and came under UK government scrutiny.[15][16] AAH had in the 1990s been sole distributor of drugs from ICI Pharmaceuticals, a predecessor of AstraZeneca.[17]
In April 2022, McKesson's UK businesses – including LloydsPharmacy, the wholesaler AAH, and a travel health service – were purchased by the Aurelius Group.[18][19][page needed]
Branches
[edit]The AAH group has several branches. The Enterprise branch sells health and beauty products to over 5,000 independent pharmacies in the UK. The Trident branch is a shortline supplier to independent pharmacies in the UK.
It has 14 depots around the UK including locations in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Scotland and Northern Ireland.[20]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "AAH PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED latest financial report". uk.globaldatabase.com. Global Database Ltd. 31 March 2020.
- ^ "About AAH". hallohealthcaregroup.com. Hallo Healthcare Group. August 2022.
- ^ Bawden, Tom (8 January 2009). "Banks swoop to sell UK interests of German mogul who killed himself". The Times. p. 38. Gale IF0503815322.
- ^ Wiliams, D. J. (1924). Capitalist Combination in the Coal Industry. London: The Labour Publishing Company. pp. 115–6 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Registrar (21 April 1933). Investigation into an alleged combine of British anthracite coal in Canada (Report). Department of Labour, Canada. p. 25. Retrieved 12 August 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Report of the Royal Commission on Anthracite Coal (Report). 3 February 1937. p. 17. Retrieved 12 August 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Ltd". The Economist. 23 June 1923 – via Digitalisierung der Pressearchive von HWWA und IfW.
- ^ "Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries: Registration Details". Financial News. London. 20 June 1923 – via Digitalisierung der Pressearchive von HWWA und IfW.
- ^ a b "Fusion Scheme Approved". Financial Times. London. 16 December 1926. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via Digitalisierung der Pressearchive von HWWA und IfW.
- ^ "AAH hits the City forecast". Company briefing. The Guardian. London: Guardian Newspapers Limited. 6 July 1989. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "AAH to fund care programme". Chemist & Druggist. Vol. 234, no. 5754. 17 November 1990. p. 900 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Laurance, Ben (19 June 1991). "ICI's drugs put on speed". The Guardian. London. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bray, Paul; Hewson, David (26 November 2000). "Things go better for all concerned; Working Lives". The Sunday Times. p. 7. Gale A67387944 – via Gale Onefile.
- ^ Prigg, Mark (26 November 2000). "Early alert to endangered drug supply; AAH Pharmaceuticals". The Sunday Times. p. 12. Gale A67387949 – via Gale Academic Onefile.
- ^ a b c Judge, Elizabeth (21 April 2007). "UniChem deal follows OFT inquiry into drug markets". The Times. p. 63. Gale IF0503536705 – via Times Digital Archive via Gale.
- ^ a b Peel, Lilly; Pagnamenta, Robin (12 December 2007). "OFT attack on drugs distribution deals". The Times. p. 47. Gale IF0503586939 – via Times Digital Archive via Gale.
- ^ Laurence, Ben (19 June 1991). "Finance and Economics: ICI's drugs put on speed". The Guardian. p. 12. Gale A171184635 – via Gale Onefile.
- ^ Rana, Swati (8 April 2022). "Aurelius completes acquisition of McKesson UK". Pharmacy Business. London: Garavi Gujarat Publications. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ Kessler, Eric H.; Bailey, James R., eds. (2007). Handbook of Organizational and Managerial Wisdom. Sage. ISBN 978-1-4129-1561-8 – via Google Books (Preview).
- ^ "AAH Branch Locations". AAH Pharmaceuticals. http://www.aah.co.uk/locations. Retrieved 30 October 2012[self-published source]
Further reading
[edit]- Whiteside, R. H., ed. (1993). Major Companies of Europe 1993/94. Vol. 2: Major Companies of the United Kingdom (13th ed.). London: Graham & Trotman (Kluwer). p. 4. ISBN 978-94-010-6656-3 – via Google Books (Preview).
- See also 1992 (Vol 2, page 4) and 1991 (Vol 2, page 4)
- Records of Annual General Meetings of the Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries, Limited
- "Sir Alfred Mond's Review". The Times. London. 21 November 1924. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via Digitalisierung der Pressearchive von HWWA und IfW.
- "Sir Alfred Mond's Speech". The Times. London. 29 October 1925. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via Digitalisierung der Pressearchive von HWWA und IfW.
- "Sir Alfred Mond on the Outlook". The Times. London. 18 December 1926. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via Digitalisierung der Pressearchive von HWWA und IfW.
External links
[edit]- AAH
- Celesio UK
- Documents and clippings about AAH Pharmaceuticals in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW