HubRx
HubRx operates a UK centralised automated prescription dispensing hub using KNAPP technology, serving independent community pharmacies with next-day prescription assembly at £0.50 per item, and owns a 33-branch pharmacy chain as captive customer.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLeeds, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What HubRx does
HubRx Limited is a UK-based healthcare logistics company that operates an automated prescription dispensing hub serving independent community pharmacies. Founded in 2020 by Daniel Lee (formerly founder of Pharmacy2U) and headquartered at a 40,000 sq ft facility in Leeds, the company runs the UK's first large-scale centralised dispensing hub purpose-built for independent pharmacy operators. Its core product is a hub and spoke dispensing service that processes approximately 50% of a partner pharmacy's prescription volumes through KNAPP Pack-to-Patient automated lines, integrating with PMR platforms (RxWeb, Proscript) to deliver assembled, labelled, checked, and bagged prescriptions back to the spoke pharmacy the next working day at a unit cost of £0.50 per item versus ~£2.50 in-branch.
The business model combines a transaction-fee revenue stream (per-item dispensing assembly fees offset by at-scale buying margin improvements passed back to customers), managed-services economics through stock holding on behalf of pharmacies (releasing up to £50k of working capital per location), and an add-on Direct to Patient delivery service via a Royal Mail Health partnership. The customer base is primarily UK independent community pharmacies and small pharmacy groups, served through a direct sales motion, self-serve online onboarding, and industry events. HubRx also owns Pharmacy+Health (formerly The Pharmacy Group), a 33-branch Yorkshire pharmacy chain acquired in March 2023 that operates as both customer and demonstration site, generating ~2.6 million items processed internally. The company is backed by Traditum PE and Santander, has invested £10-15m in facility and technology, and launched commercial operations for external customers in October 2025.
HubRx firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HubRx
- Legal name
- HubRx Limited
- Website
- https://hubrx.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- HubRx operates a UK centralised automated prescription dispensing hub using KNAPP technology, serving independent community pharmacies with next-day prescription assembly at £0.50 per item, and owns a 33-branch pharmacy chain as captive customer.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HubRx industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pharmacy Automation Services
- NAICS
- Couriers and Express Delivery Services (492110)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Virtual Pharmacy & Medication Management Integration Platforms (HLALABAL)
Keywords
Where HubRx is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Leeds
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
HubRx business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Dispensing Assembly Fee: Cost-plus pricing model where HubRx charges £0.50p per item for dispensing assembly, significantly below in-branch dispensing cost of approximately £2.50. The assembly fee is offset by improved buying margins passed through to customers from HubRx's at-scale purchasing power.
- Stock Holding Reduction: HubRx holds stock on behalf of pharmacies, releasing up to £50,000 of cash tied up in stock per pharmacy location.
- Direct to Patient Delivery: Low-cost prescription delivery service direct to patient doors via Royal Mail partnership, with pricing including consumables, postage and packing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Per Item Dispensing - £0.50p per item |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
HubRx product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HubRx provides a centralised automated prescription dispensing service to UK independent community pharmacies using a hub-and-spoke model. The company assembles, labels, checks, and bags prescriptions at its automated Leeds facility using KNAPP Pack-to-Patient Line technology, then returns them next-day to the originating pharmacy, handling approximately 50% of each partner pharmacy's prescription volumes at £0.50 per item versus an in-branch cost of approximately £2.50. An optional Direct to Patient delivery add-on routes assembled prescriptions via Royal Mail Health directly to patient addresses.
Product overview
HubRx is an automated prescription dispensing hub and spoke service for independent pharmacies in the UK. The core product is the automated dispensing hub located at a 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Leeds, which handles prescription assembly (picking, labelling, checking, bagging) for partner pharmacies using Knapp automation technology. This core hub service integrates with pharmacy PMR systems (RxWeb, Proscript) and returns dispensed prescriptions next-day. HubRx offers a Direct to Patient delivery add-on via Royal Mail Health partnership for home deliveries. The company also provides a Benefits Calculator tool to help pharmacies estimate financial gains. The service enables independent pharmacies to reduce dispensing workload by 80%, release approximately 15 hours daily of pharmacist capacity, and redirect staff toward higher-value clinical services. HubRx also operates its own pharmacy chain, Pharmacy+Health (formerly The Pharmacy Group), which uses the HubRx service internally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- HubRx Assembly Service (Automated Dispensing Hub) Centralised automated prescription dispensing service for UK independent community pharmacies. Prescriptions are transmitted from the partner pharmacy's PMR system (RxWeb or Proscript) to HubRx's 40,000 sq. ft. KNAPP-equipped facility in Leeds, where they are picked, labelled, checked and bagged before being returned next-day to the originating pharmacy, handling approximately 50-70% of items at £0.50 per item versus an in-branch cost of approximately £2.50.
- HubRx Direct to Patient (Hub to Home) Optional add-on delivery service for HubRx pharmacy customers that ships assembled prescriptions directly to patients' doors via Royal Mail Health, including packaging, labelling, dispatching and tracked 24 or 48-hour delivery with alternative address and safe place options, typically at lower cost than existing local delivery services.
Quantifiable outcome
- 15 hours per day capacity release per pharmacy for clinical services
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use HubRx
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
HubRx technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature4 records
HubRx partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Royal Mail HealthcoreHubRx partnered with Royal Mail Health to offer low-cost prescription delivery service direct to patient doors. The partnership provides fully tracked 24 or 48 hour delivery service including packaging, labelling, and dispatching. The service enables patients to choose convenient delivery addresses with alternative address and safe place options. This end-to-end service typically costs less than existing local delivery services and removes time and costs associated with failed and non-local deliveries.
- Pharmacy+Health (formerly The Pharmacy Group)coreHubRx acquired The Pharmacy Group (a 33-strong chain of community pharmacies in Yorkshire with 300+ employees) which became the first in the UK to use the HubRx assembly service. The group rebranded as Pharmacy+Health and serves as a flagship demonstration site for HubRx capabilities. Following acquisition, the Lestner family retained minority shareholding and Jason Lestner joined the HubRx Board as Chief Operating Officer.
- KNAPPcoreHubRx partnered with KNAPP, a global provider of intelligent and automated solutions for intralogistics and production, to install bespoke automated dispensing technology at its Leeds facility. KNAPP provides the Pack-to-Patient Line system with latest barcode and optical scanning technology. KNAPP engineers are permanently on-site during working hours for maintenance and support. The technology enables accurate prescription assembly at scale with dual lines providing redundancy.
- RxWebcoreRxWeb is a PMR (Pharmacy Management System) platform with which HubRx has developed an interoperable integration. Pharmacies using RxWeb can seamlessly send prescription assembly orders to HubRx for picking, labelling, checking, bagging, and next-day return.
- Proscript (EMIS)coreProscript (EMIS) is a PMR platform with which HubRx has developed interoperability. The integration enables prescription data exchange between pharmacy systems and HubRx automated dispensing hub.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights7 records
HubRx competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pharmacy2U: UK's leading online pharmacy; same founder (Daniel Lee) operates large-scale centralised automated dispensing serving retail/online patients rather than independent spokes. Closest comparable central-fill operating model in the UK, differentiating mainly by go-to-market (B2C mail-order vs HubRx's B2B hub-and-spoke for independents).
- PillTime: UK mail-order pharmacy specialising in automated dossette/pouch dispensing delivered direct to patient homes. Direct competitor in the patient-direct delivery space made newly possible by HubRx's Hub-to-Home service, both targeting patient convenience and pharmacist capacity release.
- RxWeb (Invatech Health): UK-based pharmacy management software platform with deep bidirectional HubRx integration for hub-and-spoke dispensing. Functions as both a sales channel and a near-direct competitor in the PMR-and-dispensing workflow category, particularly for pharmacies already running RxWeb.
Broad incumbents
- LloydsPharmacy (McKesson UK): Major UK multiple pharmacy chain, part of McKesson, with established automated dispensing hubs serving its own branch network. Comparable technology stack and operational model but limited to captive network; could extend to independents with new legislation if commercially attractive.
- Phoenix Medical Supplies (Phoenix Group UK): UK's largest pharmaceutical wholesaler with significant hub-and-spoke automation capabilities across its NPA member and own pharmacy network. Operations Director Karl Wooldridge joined HubRx from Phoenix, demonstrating direct expertise overlap; Phoenix could be HubRx's most credible competitor for independent pharmacy dispensing volume.
- Well Pharmacy (Bestway Healthcare): One of the UK's largest pharmacy chains (and largest independent-style multiple), operates centralised dispensing for its ~700 branches. Lead Pharmacist Bryan Chung joined HubRx from Well; Well's scale and group-structure economics are directly comparable to HubRx's hub-and-spoke value proposition for smaller estates.
- EMIS Group: Major UK primary-care health IT provider and parent of Proscript PMR (one of HubRx's two integrated PMR platforms). Chairman Sean Riddell was EMIS's former CEO; the relationship gives HubRx privileged PMR access but also means EMIS could theoretically extend competitor PMR-bundled dispensing services.
- Day Lewis Pharmacy: Large UK independent-style pharmacy chain (~260 branches) operating centralised dispensing support for its network. Represents both a potential strategic customer for HubRx's hub service and a competitor that could justify building/expanding its own automation footprint given scale advantages.
Others
- Numark (Phoenix Buying Group): Major UK pharmacy buying group serving thousands of independent pharmacies. Competes with HubRx for independent pharmacy wallet share via drug-purchasing leverage and ancillary services; HubRx already claims superior buying-margins to "buying groups" in its positioning. Adjacent rather than direct competitor.
Emerging players
- Pillsorted: UK digital pharmacy startup offering personalised medication management and home delivery for patients managing multiple prescriptions. Emerging player in the same pharmacy-capacity-release and D2P delivery space HubRx serves via Royal Mail; partial overlap on patient-direct use case.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HubRx social profiles
Digital presenceHubRx compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
HubRx financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HubRx leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
HubRx subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
HubRx funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HubRx M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HubRx
What does HubRx do?
HubRx provides a centralised automated prescription dispensing service to UK independent community pharmacies using a hub-and-spoke model. The company assembles, labels, checks, and bags prescriptions at its automated Leeds facility using KNAPP Pack-to-Patient Line technology, then returns them next-day to the originating pharmacy, handling approximately 50% of each partner pharmacy's prescription volumes at £0.50 per item versus an in-branch cost of approximately £2.50. An optional Direct to Patient delivery add-on routes assembled prescriptions via Royal Mail Health directly to patient addresses.
Is HubRx a public or private company?
HubRx is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was HubRx founded?
HubRx was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is HubRx based?
HubRx is headquartered in Leeds, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does HubRx make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Dispensing Assembly Fee is the primary driver. The others are stock Holding Reduction and direct to Patient Delivery.
Who are HubRx's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pharmacy2U, PillTime and RxWeb (Invatech Health). Broad incumbents are LloydsPharmacy (McKesson UK), Phoenix Medical Supplies (Phoenix Group UK), Well Pharmacy (Bestway Healthcare), EMIS Group and Day Lewis Pharmacy. Numark (Phoenix Buying Group) is listed as an others. Pillsorted is listed as an emerging player.
Does HubRx have an API?
No public API is recorded for HubRx.
What industry is HubRx in?
HubRx's product category is Pharmacy Automation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLALABAL, Virtual Pharmacy & Medication Management Integration Platforms. Its NAICS code is 492110 and its SIC code is 5122.