Mid-Year Review of the UK Pharmacy Market

So far this year, we have witnessed robust activity in the UK pharmacy market, with all key metrics at or above where they were this time last year.

Despite continued operational pressures facing contractors, along with the ongoing impact of the economic inflationary cycle, buyer appetite from both existing operators and first-time buyers remains as strong as ever. This is evident in the number of our agreed deals in the first half of 2023, which increased by almost 45 per cent compared with the same period last year, along with 49 completed sales.

Key Market Trends

In terms of front-end activity, even with increased operational pressures, the number of independent operators looking to exit the market or consolidate their estates remains much on par with last year.

The first half of the year has, however, involved plenty of corporate activity, with all of the key operators looking to divest their estates of non-performing or marginal stores. As previously reported in P3pharmacy, corporate activity has continued to be dominated by the sales of Lloyds branches, either through individual sales or subgroups to other regional and national multiples seeking to take advantage of the discounted prices at which the pharmacies have been offered for sale...

To read the full article on the P3pharmacy website, click here.