There is a conversation I have several times a year, and it’s generally very similar.
A pharmacist calls, frustrated. They have been looking to acquire a pharmacy for a long time. They have made offers on multiple businesses. On each occasion, someone else was successful. They want to know whether they’re doing something wrong, or whether it’s simply that their offer wasn’t high enough.
In my experience, most buyers who are continually unsuccessful are not just losing a bidding war, they’re generally not as well prepared. It might be because their finance was not sorted and they couldn’t move at the pace the campaign required. Maybe they are unable to quickly assess opportunities because they aren’t familiar with the reports, or don’t have a clear idea of what they’re looking for. It might also be due to the complexity or unfavourable nature of their offer conditions, that made other offers a more attractive option for the vendor.
Price is generally the most important element of an offer, however, the other key conditions are also important, and factor into a vendor’s decision. Competition for well-run pharmacies is at its sharpest in NSW, where I spend most of my time, but the pattern is the same in every other state too.
Here is what separates the buyers who get the deal from the ones who keep coming second.
Start your finance before you find the pharmacy, not after.
This is the single biggest difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t. Buyers who have already met with a finance broker and know their borrowing capacity, their deposit position and what security they can offer, can confidently submit offers faster than those how haven’t completed those steps.
The average time on market currently is circa two weeks, so if you’re waiting on a response from your finance broker or lender before submitting an offer, you’ll likely be too slow and miss out.
I’d also strongly advise that these initial conversations take place with a pharmacy lending specialist as lenders assess a pharmacy differently to most other small businesses. Our AP Finance team works on pharmacy purchases every day and has built relationships with the major banks and a range of smaller lenders, which usually means fewer surprises and a faster path to approval.
To be clear, you do not need formal approval before you start looking, you just need a realistic picture of what you can fund and how quickly.
Know exactly what you are looking for.
Be clear on your acquisition profile. Pharmacy type, location, income streams, operational model and geographic location. Being clear on this does two things. It stops you wasting weeks on businesses that were never going to suit you, and it means that when something does fit, you recognise it immediately and can take positive steps to secure it.
Watch your inbox and act on what lands in it.
Every new listing goes out by email to our buyer network as soon as it goes live. Everyone on that list receives the same email at the same time. What separates buyers is what happens over the next couple of days.
Some open it that morning, read the information memorandum, and call with a question by lunchtime. Others get to it a fortnight later, by which point multiple offers will have been presented to the vendor.
So, the practical advice is simple.
- Register as a member at apgroup.com.au which will give you access to the comprehensive listing information for all businesses we have for sale.
- Make sure our emails are reaching you and not being redirected to a promotions tab or a spam folder and keep your contact details current. It sounds obvious. It is also the reason some buyers see listings a week after everyone else.
- Save the AP Group listings page as a favourite tab in your browser and review it regularly. We have new listings every week, so it pays to check-in regularly.
Have your team ready before you need them.
Buying a pharmacy is not something you do alone. Once you have an offer accepted, you need an accountant to assist with due diligence, a lawyer for the contract and the lease, and a finance broker to liaise with lenders and support you through the loan process. Line them up while you are still looking, so they are on hand to provide advice when you need them.
Who you choose matters. Use a pharmacy specialist accountant, not a good general one and not the person who does your personal tax return. A specialist reads pharmacy financials every week, understands industry benchmarks, key KPI’s and can identify red flags quickly. A generalist gets there eventually, and eventually could be too late.
The same applies to your lawyer. Pharmacy transactions involve PBS approval numbers, the Pharmacy Location Rules, lease assignment and state-based ownership legislation, none of which is everyday work for a suburban conveyancer. Ask any prospective adviser how many pharmacy transactions they have handled in the past year. The answer tells you what you need to know. It is the reason we built AP Legal in-house, so that our clients are not left trying to find a lawyer who understands pharmacy in the middle of a due diligence period.
Get your price right, then get your terms right.
Price is always the first part of an offer a vendor considers, for obvious reasons. However, we often have multiple offers at very similar levels, and consequently what ultimately separates the offers are the other conditions, and that is where a lot of buyers give ground without realising it.
Deposit amounts, the length of your due diligence period, your finance clause and your proposed settlement date all carry weight, because the vendor is also weighing up how likely your offer is to reach settlement and how much of time it will take. Where the numbers are close, the offer with confirmed funding and a short due diligence period is the more attractive one. If you are not sure how your terms read from the other side of the table, ask the broker.
Widen the brief before you widen the budget.
When you have narrowly missed out on multiple opportunities, the instinct is to stretch financially. Before you do, look at whether you have potentially narrowed your search too far.
Buyers who will only consider businesses within a half hour drive of where they currently live are competing in the smallest possible pool. Regional and outer metropolitan businesses regularly offer better value and often sit in catchments with the ideal demographics to support a pharmacy. Australians aged 60 and over account for more than 60 per cent of subsidised medicines dispensed, while people under 40 make up more than half the population but under 15 per cent of prescriptions.
Interstate is worth considering too, though be aware that while the Pharmacy Location Rules are national, pharmacy ownership legislation sits with each state and territory, so the requirements are not identical everywhere. Get advice before you commit to a search in an unfamiliar market.
And if full ownership is out of reach right now, a junior partnership can be a legitimate way in. It is how a number of our clients have started.
Play the long game.
Every near miss can be a valuable experience if you look for the learnings from each occasion. Brokers remember the buyers who were responsive, realistic and easy to deal with.
The opportunities are there. Getting one is mostly a question of being the buyer who is ready when it appears.
Industry figures sourced from IBISWorld, Pharmacies in Australia (July 2026), and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and Westpac, Community Pharmacy Industry Insights Report 2026.
Written by Jack Brown, NSW State Manager – AP Group
AP Group are the leading pharmacy experts in Australia, helping hundreds of pharmacists into ownership every year – our team can help with sourcing finance for your purchase, as well as providing the right legal advice to help you navigate the process.
We connect existing pharmacy owners with over 5000 ready and eager investors via our cutting-edge online Data Room. Our Data Room keeps confidential listing data secure and allows buyers to make informed decisions on each of our pharmacies for sale.
About the Author:
Don’t let the suit fool you. On the weekends you’ll find Jack fly fishing, camping with his kids, rock pooling or cheering for the Tiges (a shame, we know). And just like you’ll find Jack excelling in several outdoor hobbies, you’ll also find he’s excelled across several industries in various roles. From owning small businesses to running bars to working as a strategic consultant for ING — Jack is a man of many talents.
Having bought, built and sold several small businesses over the last 15 years, Jack knows a thing or two about the mechanics of business — and he draws on this experience to help you buy or sell your pharmacy with confidence.
Business aside, Jack has thrived in several senior roles. He worked as a Strategic Consultant for ING (responsible for assessing the existing asset portfolio, feasibility analysis’ and strategic modelling). He also worked as a Strategist and Project Manager at Right Angle Studios, responsible for strategic insights that would inform the overall business strategy. See we told you, a man of many talents.