Thirty-four per cent of pharmacy owners are looking to sell up in 2025, according to a market outlook report from property broker Christie & Co. 

Published today (January 16), the report shares the findings of an anonymous survey of pharmacy professionals. Thirty per cent said they planned to buy a pharmacy in 2025, while four per cent said they hoped to both buy new pharmacies and sell off a portion of their existing estate. 

Meanwhile, 32 per cent said they had no intention of either buying or selling over the next 12 months.

Christie & Co said 2024 had been a “record-breaking year” with 222 completed pharmacy sales in the 12 months to November 2024, “more than double the amount for the preceding year”.

Of these transactions, 36 per cent were disposals by large pharmacy multiples, a trend the broker expected to “subside” this year amid an anticipated “increasing volume of independent sales”. 

First-time buyers accounted for 33 per cent of acquisitions, with owners of small independent businesses of up to 10 pharmacies making up 25 per cent and ‘regional multiples’ of 10-50 pharmacies making up 21 per cent. 

Large chains of 50 or more pharmacies were the buyers in just eight per cent of sales handled by Christie & Co in 2024.  

The company predicted that group operators will show more appetite for expansion in 2025 “as some cost pressures stabilise” and that private equity will “renew its focus on the sector as it is one of the few primary care sectors not to have seen significant investor appetite”.

The broker reported downward pressure on prices, with the average price of sold pharmacies down 6.3 per cent compared to 2023 as “distressed” sales of struggling businesses attracted buyers “keen to acquire competitively priced opportunities”.

However, the last quarter of the year saw a “vast increase” in the average value of businesses coming to the market, the report added.

Pharmacies sold for an average 91 per cent of their asking price – the lowest average of any year since 2019 and down significantly from 2023 when the average sale was 2.7 per cent above asking price. 

Jonathan Board, head of pharmacy at Christie & Co, commented: “2024 was a record year from pharmacy transactions due in part to an increased level of corporate divestments. 

“As we move into 2025, the entire sector is waiting with bated breath for an announcement on the outcome of pharmacy’s wider funding agreement which will replace the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework’s five-year deal from 2019. 

“This will hopefully provide some certainty for all contractors moving forwards and allow them to plan and invest accordingly. 

“Although cost pressures will continue to be a feature for the foreseeable future, market appetite remains strong for well-established, well-run businesses as well as the numbers of pharmacies sold over the last 12 months.”

However, market appetite “will be tempered by the outcome of the much-needed funding settlement negotiations,” said Mr Board.