Abbey Wood pharmacy changes hands through Christie & Co
Sogim Pharmacy, located in Abbey Wood, South East London, has been sold through specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co to a consortium of three buyers; one previous operator and two new entrants to the sector.
Located on the busy Plumstead High Street, the pharmacy is conveniently located on a parade of other retail businesses, benefitting from the provision of on road parking for customers. The densely populated area has 12 surgeries in a one mile radius, making Sogim Pharmacy ideally situated to serve the local community as the only pharmacy business within half a mile.
Previous owner, Ms Adurayemi Alimi decided to sell the business following the withdrawal of its Essential Small Pharmacy Scheme (ESPS) payments in 2016 and to focus her efforts on her other pharmacy in East Dulwich. Having previously purchased Sogim Pharmacy through Christie & Co in 2012, Ms Alimi instructed them to bring it back on the market. She comments, “The recent cuts to the NHS pharmacy budget meant that I was better off to focus on just one business and sell the leasehold of my Abbey Wood site. Luckily Christie & Co were able to get me a good price so I was happy to let it go and wish the new operators the best of luck.”
The new owners of Sogim Pharmacy are a mix of two first time buyers in the sector, and a third individual, who is well experienced in the sector as a previous operator.
Mark Page, Director at Christie & Co who handled the sale, comments, “This was an interesting sale given the multiple buyers involved and the business’ recent loss of the small pharmacy scheme payments, but it showed that community pharmacies can still be valuable and survive without this support, given the right focus.
“Interest in pharmacy businesses is being seen across all buyer types, from expanding groups to growing operators and new entrants, so the consortium of buyers in this case exemplifies the diverse buyer pool for those purchasing these kinds of businesses.”
