Selling your pharmacy

Preparing Your Pharmacy for Sale

01 June 2020

Preparing Your Pharmacy

for Sale

When you have taken the decision to sell your pharmacy there are a number of things that need to done to ensure that your pharmacy shows itself in the best possible light. You’ll want to make sure you get a fair return on investment for your effort during your period of ownership. Here are our the first steps when preparing your pharmacy for sale and a list of what you’ll need to pull together for your sales agent.

 

Preparing your pharmacy

 

Selling a pharmacy is a little like selling a house so if you’ve done that it won’t be as daunting as you might think.  Are there minor repairs that need to be done  e.g. painting the shop front, improving the lighting or sorting out that rickety shelving, that won’t cost the earth but make the pharmacy look its best? Look at everything because potential buyers will and everything will effect their impression they get and the value they assign to your pharmacy.

 

Again, just like selling a house, keep your pharmacy de-cluttered with all the retail space well stocked and the shelves faced up and then take some photographs that you can subsequently share with your chosen sales agent. It is particularly important to take good photographs of the areas of the pharmacy that cannot be seen by the public e.g. The dispensary and stock rooms. Take the time to produce high quality photographs. They can really help buyers visualise the pharmacy and catch the eye.

 

Your sales agent can of course arrange for photos, or better still, a video to be taken, but if you already have them ready its saves time and stops you alerting your staff that the pharmacy is being prepared for sale at a very early stage if that is important to you. (The subject of a future article).

 

It’s a good idea to have friend to look around before taking the photos as you often overlook that untidy pile of invoices in the corner of the dispensary because you see them every day!

 

Check that your NHS Choices listing is correct for the opening hours and services. Ensure that you have responded in full to any patient reviews. Your prospective buyers will look at your entry and take note of any comments about the levels of service. It is possible to report vexatious patient reviews and get them removed from the website if you can prove that the review is incorrect.

 

Don’t forget that potential buyers may well look at your digital presence as well. It is one of the first places people will look. Take a look at your website and social media channels if you have them and decide if they need tidying up as well.

 

Preparing the sales pack

 

Then it’s a process of collating all the paperwork and figures you will need for prospective buyers to appraise your pharmacy’s financials, etc.

 

You will need to pass on to your sales agent;

 

The last three years accounts from your accountant. If you are selling one pharmacy out of a small group then the last three management accounts for the pharmacy you are selling out of the group. Your accountant should be able to provide electronic copies.

 

 

Your last 12 months monthly NHS Statements.  If you access them electronically then that is great and avoids lots of scanning documents.

 

 

Does your pharmacy dispense to any Care Homes or patients based in their own homes who use monitored dosage systems and if so how many patients/ monthly items and what system is used.

 

 

A copy of your lease or the last valuation of your freehold property. Please take tax advice from your accountant of you intend to keep the freehold and set up a new lease. Your sales agent can arrange for a suitable freehold valuation if required.

 

 

A list of the professional services your pharmacy provides both NHS and Private.

 

 

Your monthly OTC retail sales excluding VAT and NHS levies.

 

 

If you have any retail accounts please list the approx. income and any discounts given.

 

 

If you have a plan of your pharmacy from the last time it was refitted that would be of great assistance.

 

 

What dispensary computer system do you use and what are the leasing/ maintenance costs? Provide a copy of the leasing agreement.

 

 

Is you delivery vehicle leased or owned and please provide a service record along with an estimate of weekly delivery numbers.

 

 

A list of your staff (just job titles, not names) with their hourly rates, Hours worked per week and the level of their pharmacy qualification along with length of service and benefits (holiday entitlement, pension, bonus payments).

 

 

Any other information that you think is pertinent to the sale of your pharmacy. Your pharmacy is unique to you and your staff and you know it better than anyone else. A good Sales Agent will ask you all sorts of questions to tease this information out of you but prepare in advance.

 

Work with the pharmacy specialists

 

All of this may seem like a lot of work but Pharmacy Seekers can assist you with many of these tasks. You will want the best price for your pharmacy and preparation is the key to promoting and subsequently selling your pharmacy.

 

If you need some informal advice now about selling your pharmacy contact steve@pharmacyseekers.com or chris@pharmacyseekers.com