How to Sell a Pharmacy
Selling a pharmacy may seem like a daunting task, but in reality it's done quite often. Some commercial real estate brokerages specialize in the buying and selling of pharmacies. The key to selling a pharmacy and running it at the same time is to keep it confidential and try to appeal to people outside of your community. If you put a large "for sale" sign out in front of your pharmacy, you may cause your regular customers to panic and go elsewhere.
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Instructions
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Consult a commercial real estate agent or pharmacy broker that specializes in pharmacy sales. If you are interested in selling your independent pharmacy to a larger chain or franchise, then they can help you get in touch with the right people.
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Start the process of selling the pharmacy as early as possible. This will help you minimize your tax outlay and help make the transition as easy as possible for your staff and customers. Make sure you have permission from any partner or corporate entity with whom you share ownership.
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Gather your sales documents and tax records for the past several years together and put together numbers that a potential buyer will want to see including expenditures, labor costs and contracts, inventory and property costs.
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Get a valuation of your business and the property. This can be done by your agent or broker in combination with the tax appraisal that was done on your business by the local municipality.
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Keep it quiet. When you are selling a pharmacy, you don't want to send your customers into a panic -- or give your competitors the heads-up that you are selling. You need your agent or broker to be as quiet as possible about the potential sale.
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Contact large companies that may be looking to expand their pharmacy operations in your area. If you are the only pharmacy in your neighborhood, your pharmacy might be the foot they need in the door of your town.
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Consider offering ownership of the pharmacy to a current employee, such as a long-time pharmacist on staff. This can keep the pharmacy independent and, if you still want to have an interest in it, you could work yourself in as a silent partner. This can also make legal transfer of the pharmacy license a little easier, if you know the pharmacist is already licensed.
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Accept an offer to purchase and close the sale as you would any other business or property. Make sure that your wishes are clearly represented by the agent or broker.
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File an application to transfer the pharmacy's license to the new owner through your state's licensing board. Every state's requirements and application procedures are different, so make sure you understand them thoroughly before proceeding. In Wisconsin, for example, you need to submit the application as well as a set of original floor plans with the refrigerator and sink location detailed.
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Submit any changes made in the managing pharmacist to your state regulation board. The managing pharmacist must be approved and licensed in your state before the pharmacy can be transferred or continue to operate. Your broker or agent can help you make sure there is no pause in service during this time.
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References
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