Securing £370,000 of funding to buy a pharmacy business

Many pharmacists will turn to their bank when they have a large scale funding need to help them get the deal they want. In practice, however, your bank may not be able to provide the funding required - especially if your needs don’t match their strict lending criteria.

We were recently approached to provide the funding to help a pharmacist to buy an established chemist shop business, after the bank he had initially approached had failed to provide any finance offers after weeks of trying.

Our client was an experienced pharmacist who had managed a successful branch of a large chain. He had found a leasehold pharmacy close to his home that was for sale with a good location on a high street with plenty of retail as well as a thriving scrip business.

“I went to my bank and explained what I wanted, and they were initially very helpful. They told me they were prepared to offer 80% of the £370,000 I needed to buy the business. This was going to leave me with less cash than I wanted in an ideal world, but I thought that it would be the best deal I could get.”

He provided them with the documents that they requested and had some face to face meetings. However, two months later the funding was not forthcoming and he began to worry that he was in danger of losing the purchase if things dragged on any longer. 

He came to Rangewell for a solution that would provide the funding he needed.

How we helped when the bank could not

Our service is always personal and we have teams who are expert in the pharmacy sector. We know that a pharmacy is not simply a high street shop, and that some banks will not have the necessary knowledge of the sector to offer a loan that recognises the potential and the economic realities of the sector. 

We saw that as well a concrete offer of the funding he needed, our client wanted a higher Loan to Value (LTV) funding than the bank was offering to keep his own contribution as small as possible. 

Most lenders have set the levels of LTV that they will offer, and most will offer less than 80%.

To overcome the problems, we helped prepare a detailed business case based on our knowledge of the sector and the particular factors - such as NHS contracts - that affect it. 

Then we approached another high street bank which we know has experience in lending to pharmacies. 

Because we have direct contacts at high levels within banks and other lenders, we were able to shortcut the usual procedures.

We went directly to the decision-makers in the bank - and were able to secure a firm offer within just 5 working days. 

Not only did we secure the funding that our client had been waiting for, we were able to secure the offer at 90% LTV - a significant reduction in the amount our client would need to find as a deposit. 

We provided a total of £333,000 and, despite the high LTV, we were able to do so at just 2.8% over base over 15 years.  

The funding Rangewell secured

£333,000 at 2.8% over base over 15 years.

Monthly repayment  £2,371.59

Our client was able to buy the business, and with a reserve of cash to call on was able to stock and refurbish it. His new business is already proving lucrative. 

We help pharmacists - and other business owners - with all their funding needs. If you are ready to buy a pharmacy, we can help to find business loans for pharmacists. Our service is independent, fast and absolutely free - and means having an expert working to find you financial answers.