The purchase of a pharmacy can lead to many questions. Indeed, buying a pharmacy requires a careful analysis of the financial, administrative and legal aspects of the premises. But what are the steps to follow when acquiring a pharmacy? And what are the conditions to be met for its purchase?
Prerequisites to buy a pharmacy
Before taking out a loan for the purchase of a pharmacy, the necessary conditions must first be met. Indeed, you must first hold a state diploma of doctor of pharmacy accompanied by a professional experience of at least 6 months. If you meet these two conditions, you can apply to the ARS or regional health agency to obtain a buy-back license. After filing the prior notice with the ARS, the application will then go through different authorities. Indeed, the application will have to go through the prefect, the national order of pharmacists and finally through the pharmacists' unions. The pharmacists' unions will have a period of 2 months to examine your request and to give an answer. If this time limit is exceeded and no response is received, your file will be considered favorable and will return to the ARS. The ARS will make the final decision after a maximum of 4 months. If your request does not receive a response after this time, it will be considered unfavorable.
How to choose the pharmacy to buy?
Before making a real estate purchase of a pharmacy, it is important to take into account a few criteria. First of all, you have to take into account the area where the pharmacy is located. An audit of the premises is therefore necessary, taking into account the number of pharmacies already in the vicinity. Indeed, the more pharmacies there are in the vicinity, the tougher the competition will be. It is therefore necessary to verify that the pharmacy you wish to acquire is among the most visible. This will be a sine qua non condition for the success of your pharmacy. Also take into account the potential customers present in the surroundings by checking the extent of the catchment area. And check that the pharmacy follows the necessary standards that allow access for disabled people. After that, it will also be necessary to analyze the sales area of the pharmacy in order to better prepare your installation projects. These different points must be taken into account before choosing the pharmacy to buy and before entering into a sales agreement.
How to successfully purchase a pharmacy?
Buying a pharmacy is subject to many legal, financial, commercial and administrative conditions. It is therefore useful to be well informed before buying a pharmacy in order to benefit from the advice necessary for the acquisition. It is therefore necessary to first go through a notary to draft a deed of sale. It will also be necessary to call upon an accountant and a lawyer to draw up the sales agreement and estimate the sale price of the pharmacy. The sale price of a pharmacy often varies between 80% and 120% of the annual sales including VAT of the pharmacy. Only an accountant and a lawyer will have the knowledge about the right price of the pharmacy. Indeed, the investments to be taken into account are numerous, such as: the acquisition of the premises, the purchase of the lease, the furniture, the counters, the team, etc. In addition, there are also expenses to consider such as: accountant's fees, lawyer's fees, notary's fees, etc. The knowledge of all these financial aspects will be necessary for the negotiation of a real estate credit at the bank.