Pharmacy sold to first-time buyer off £500k asking price

A pharmacy on Merseyside has been sold off an asking price of £500,000.

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, announced the sale of Hightown Pharmacy, with funding for the buyer sourced through Christie Finance.

Hightown Pharmacy is a well-established community pharmacy set in the heart of the village of Hightown, North Merseyside, which benefits from having a GP practice within 500 yards.

The business has been owned by Mr Ellis and Mrs Fleur Hall-Lyon for more than 15 years and was sold to allow Ellis to pursue property development interests, including establishing a coffee shop next door to the pharmacy. Fleur will continue with locum pharmacy work.

Hightown Pharmacy has been purchased by first-time buyer, Daniel Higham, who plans to expand the pharmacy’s services.

Daniel Higham said: “Taking ownership of Hightown Pharmacy is a fantastic opportunity. I look forward to serving the community and continuing the excellent work of the previous owners.”

Jon Booth, associate director – pharmacy at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, said: “When the business came to market there was a good level of interest, as there often is in this area of the market, which is very much first time buyer territory. The business has certainly gone to a safe pair of hands in Daniel Higham who has been looking to acquire his first business for a number of years.”

The firm sold more than £20m-worth of pharmacy businesses in the North of England in 2021, and Mr Booth added: “Supply of good quality pharmacy businesses across the UK still remains very limited with appetite from buyers continuing to improve.”

Gary Boyce, director at Christie Finance, said: “With Daniel’s track record of growing prescription items and capabilities in promoting a range of additional pharmacy services from his roles to date, his funding application was welcomed by a number of lenders and we were able to present a great selection of loan options to meet his needs.”