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As Christie & Co publishes its market review for 2026, its head of pharmacy Jonathan Board shares his perspective – and says a rise in insolvency sales doesn’t necessarily reflect the sector’s current health

What stood out to you most from this year’s report?

I think it was a continuation of what we've sort of seen in the previous year, and certainly before that. We saw roughly a similar proportion of first time buyers coming into the market, and I think that's been something that's been noticeable the last few years.

We've obviously had a whole raft of kind of corporate divestments stretching all the way back to 2020 and that's kind of continued along, giving opportunities to people to get on the ladder and buy their first pharmacy.

So I don't think there's been any significant sort of surprises there, it's a bit of just a continuation of that trajectory.

Is the shift to an independent-dominated sector becoming a permanent trend?

I don't see it reversing.

I see pharmacy on this trajectory of independent ownership, year-on-year we see a similar amount of first time buyers entering the sector. I think unless something seismic changes and a number of the corporates do what they did 10 to 15 years ago.

I think we're in a place where the independent sector and small, regional, agile buyers are the ones that will be most active. I see that as continuing for sure.

What’s been behind that?

I guess the larger operators have found it more challenging to run those big estates when they've got multiple layers of management, with the staff and associated cost that entails.

I think the reason that a lot of those people have started to divest has simply been a recognition that they're less able to compete in some areas, some of the smaller item pharmacies particularly, with the, with the independents.

Some of these independent operators, particularly first time buyers, are just nimble, agile, in tune with what their local community needs and are more able to service those needs. If you've got hundreds of pharmacies, you want at least a level of uniformity across that estate, whereas in some areas you might actually need to adapt your offering.

Incentives also come into it. If you've bought your first pharmacy and borrowed a significant amount of money, you're incredibly motivated to make that work.

Are banks still happy to lend to prospective pharmacy buyers?

The message that most banks are giving out is that they are supportive of pharmacy acquisitions. I don’t see any of the banks suddenly not wanting to lend into that sector.

I would be surprised if they weren't paying some pretty close attention to cash flow forecasts and business plans and all those sorts of things, but I still think if you take a step back and you put pharmacy up against a whole raft of other businesses, I still think pharmacies are pretty good place for some of these banks to put their money. They’re not seasonal, they're not leisure, they're a needs-driven business in many ways.

I think most of the banks now do have healthcare specialists who understand pharmacy, probably better than they maybe would have done five or 10 years ago, and I think they are more invested in it. I think any banks looking at lending to a particular person or a particular company would be asking questions about the target business, whether it is performing well.

Insolvencies seem to be occurring more frequently than in the past. How does that square with the Christie report’s finding of improved profitability?

I think it's a timing issue. The administrations and the insolvencies probably reflect the pressures that have built up over a period of years. I think the CPCF funding that has come in have probably come too late for some of those companies. The pressure that they would have been under would have been from 2021, 2022, 2023, and they've come to a point where they haven't been able to get out of that.

Funding has improved, but it's come too late for some of those people that have suffered the cash flow pressures for a number of years. If you get into that cycle of, of struggling to pay your wholesalers, that can kind of get very difficult to get out of.

Is the proportion of sellers who are looking to retire similar to previous years?

It ebbs and flows. Ultimately, when you're retiring you only get one chance to sell up. You’re always trying to figure out the best time to sell, and I think we've seen an increase in the retirement sales in the last 12 months as opposed to the previous year and before that.

People recognise that at the time when there were significant disposals it probably wasn't the best time to get the best price for their business. I think we have seen an increase, but it’s not hugely significant.

To be honest, if you get to that stage, whether the market's fantastic or indifferent you sometimes just have to go for it anyway.

in an ideal world you would probably be speaking to your advisors a couple of a couple of years out. You've got to think about your accounts, your property, your lease, your freehold, and the actual business itself.

What are prospective buyers telling you?

I think a lot of these younger buyers know what they need to do. They're already delivering a lot of the services, whether they're employed elsewhere or they're locuming around, so it's not a massive sea change for them.

A lot of these people are obviously looking for the things that have got opportunity to grow, which gooes back to the retirement seller who’s maybe not doing everything, not pushing private services. If you're a buyer, you'd obviously like to buy a pharmacy that's got future growth.

I think we're seeing less people that are simply just moving a long way for a purchase, they are buying a bit more local to them and are less willing to relocate.

And people are now much more aware of the risks of taking on a rent that's too high, like with a health centre. I think it comes down to the fixed costs.

There plenty of health centres where the rent is sensible, but there is a perception that those pharmacies are less able to do the additional and private services that a lot of pharmacy operators want to do. There's certainly less demand for health centre pharmacies than there would have been again 10 years ago, let's say, but some of them are still very good businesses. 

Do you expect to see more of the big chains downsizing in the next 12 to 18 months?

I think it's very difficult to second guess that. We've actually seen relatively little activity in the last 12 months from the large, from the large corporates. I'm sure they will all be doing some small bits and pieces here or there, but I think the bigger question is what is the optimum size of an estate?

I'm not sure that anybody actually knows what the answer to that question is.