There are a number of actions that you can take in relation to the pharmacy property in preparation for a sale in order to avoid transaction delays.

Property title documents 

If a pharmacy is not registered at the Land Registry, you should arrange for registration if possible. Further, if it is leasehold, the lease and any ancillary documentation including any landlord’s consents (to alterations, assignments, underlettings, etc) should be collated. If you have failed to obtain such consents (for example, for works), you should do so retrospectively.  

Ownership of property

You should ensure that the pharmacy is owned by the correct entity/person to enable to the property to be sold with the company/business. If it is not, it will need to be transferred. Normally this is required where a sole trader purchased the pharmacy and then later incorporated a company to operate the business. If you own the leasehold of the pharmacy, the landlord’s consent will be required for such transfer.
This consent can take weeks to obtain.

Landlord’s consent

On a sale of the company shares, provided that the property is in the name of the company, no landlord’s consent is required. However, on an asset sale where the tenant will be changing, the landlord’s consent will be required. Once the buyer is known, the landlord’s consent should be sought.

Legal requirements

You should collate or if you do not already have them, commission, an asbestos survey, fire risk assessment and energy performance certificate. These are all items that are legally required for pharmacy businesses and can take two to three weeks to produce.

All planning permissions and building regulation documents that relate to the pharmacy that are up 10 years old should also be pulled together.

The above is a general overview and we recommend that independent legal advice is sought for your specific concerns.