Red letter day: Loughborough pharmacy and post office sold to regional chain
With their purchase of Saraj Pharmacy & Post Office, Rahul and Anup Patel have grown their East Midlands chain to 14 pharmacies, a broker has announced.
An East Midlands combination pharmacy and post office has been sold to a burgeoning regional pharmacy group, Christie & Co announced today (May 9).
Saraj Patel and his family has owned Loughborough’s Saraj Pharmacy & Post Office for more than 40 years but they decided to sell the business to enable them to retire, according to the broker.
In addition to its role as a 7,300-item per month community pharmacy, Saraj Pharmacy & Post Office also has three counters devoted to its Post Office business, Christie & Co said.
Read more: ‘Affordable’ 30-hour ‘lifestyle’ pharmacy sold to locum pharmacist
Once on the market, the business attracted “very high levels of interest and offers” from prospective owners, it added.
Rahul and Anup Patel were the successful bidders, securing the pharmacy for an undisclosed price. The acquisition grows their East Midlands chain to 14 pharmacies, the broker said.
Read more: Post-pandemic ‘change of direction’ led couple to buy Islay’s only pharmacy
Christie & Co director Carl Steer said that the sale of Saraj Pharmacy & Post Office was “a perfect example of the Leicester market”.
“Buyers are as keen as ever to secure profitable pharmacies across the county,” he added.
Steer noted a “growing number of buyers” for pharmacies but a “lack of pharmacies for sale”.
Wind in the sales
Last month, C+D reported that a County Durham pharmacy had been snapped up by a locum pharmacist – with the 30-hour pharmacy described as “more of a lifestyle business”.
In February, Christie & Co announced that married couple Lisa and Simon Simpson were the new owners of Islay Pharmacy, the sole pharmacy on the Inner Hebridean island.
Read more: Revealed: 85% of pharmacy professionals want to buy or sell in 2024
The pair said at the time that the COVID-19 pandemic had prompted them to pursue a “change of direction” and a move into owning their own community pharmacy.
And in January, Christie & Co’s latest business outlook report highlighted a 5% drop in sale prices in 2023, with 85% of pharmacy professionals expressing a desire to buy or sell a pharmacy in 2024.
