Last week (May 18), Judge Justice Collins rejected "with regret" two cases against the funding cuts, brought by the National Pharmacy Association and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.

Scott Hayton, director of brokers Hutchings Consultants, told C+D today (May 18) that "for the last 15 months" buyers have been operating on the basis that the cuts to pharmacy funding in England would not be derailed.

“Since the cuts were announced in December 2015, the pace of the market has displayed no signs of slowing down,” Mr Hayton said. “Despite a marked increase in activity, demand has remained strong and goodwill values stable.”

Mr Hayton said any deviation in the government’s plans to impose cuts would have been a “fantastic achievement”, with “any level of compromise won, a bonus for pharmacy operators”.

He added that he hopes the sector's “new-found strength” could “continue to be used to positive effect”, as contractors in England employ new strategies to meet the practical challenges of the cuts.

Last month, property adviser Christie & Co predicted that pharmacy sales are set to continue for the remainder of 2017. The broker saw a 75% increase in sales either exchanged or completed in the first three months of 2017, compared with the same period last year, it told C+D at the time.

Read C+D's full coverage and analysis of the pharmacy cuts court case here