St Peter’s Hill Pharmacy in Grantham, Lincolnshire, was sold for an undisclosed price "in excess of the guide”, Hutchings said.

The former owner, who remained unnamed, was looking to “take life a little bit slower” but is still working in pharmacy, Hutchings director Scott Hayton, who handled the sale, told C+D last week (May 26).

Read more: Pharmacy buyer registrations ‘rocketed by colossal 202%’ in 2023, broker reveals

The pharmacy was bought by “independent operators” Amil Natvarlal Vrajlal Mehta and Niravkumar Ramanlal Patel, who were “very quick to move forwards”, he said.

The business was removed from the market “just three weeks” after launching in a “great result for both sides”, he told C+D.

The seller “had done fantastically well” in “building it up from scratch” and the buyers “immediately” identified the “scope of the ongoing opportunity”, he added.

 

30,000 items per month

 

The “impressive” high-volume pharmacy dispensed almost 30,000 items per month at the point of sale and is based in a “sizeable” GP practice that became a “weekend hub” for patients, according to Mr Hayton. 

“The item numbers continued to grow through the course of the legal work, which was really positive to see, and I’m sure this pharmacy will continue on this trajectory under its new ownership team,” he said.

Read more: High-volume Kent coast pharmacy with ‘loyal customers’ sold to London operator

“This transaction really highlights the importance of sellers finding the right buyer and having the right team of advisors on a transaction,” he added.

“From the outset, these buyers were evidently very serious and they continued to perform throughout the legal process,” he said.

Hutchings wished both the sellers and buyers “the best of success going forwards”.

Read more: Revealed: Locations of Lloydspharmacy branches bought by Rowlands

It comes as Hutchings’ annual England pharmacy market update report for 2023, published this week (May 31), revealed that the number of pharmacy buyer registrations “rocketed by a colossal 202%” in the first quarter of 2023.

The broker said that pharmacy buyers’ “confidence and desire to acquire continue to override genuine concerns” over government funding and the UK's “wider economic issues”.

Read more: So you've decided to make an offer on a pharmacy. What comes next?

Pharmacy buyers were “mainly attracted by the large upsurge in acquisition opportunities that has arisen from various multiples implementing divestment plans”, it added.

However, the report predicted that the “unprecedented increase” shown over a very short period is “expected to recede over the coming months as the number of available pharmacies returns to typical levels once more”.