“I know there are a number of pharmacy brokers, and we really didn’t know a lot about any of them, so we sought some advice from other pharmacists, Stewart came well recommended and we can only add our recommendation.”

“Partway through the sale of our pharmacy, I said to Stewart, partly in jest, that it was “easier to run a pharmacy than sell a pharmacy”. The only reason I was able to partially joke about it was due to the support Stewart gave throughout the selling period.

There is no doubting that deciding to sell a pharmacy, especially one that you have spent almost your whole working life (41 years) in, is a significant one. Stewart, to his credit, allowed us the time we needed to come to that conclusion (with a few subtle and sensible prompts).

Once you have decided to sell, the potentially hard work begins. Assembling the information that Stewart needed to prepare a comprehensive Pharmacy Profile is first, and Stewart made that as painless as possible by maximising his input and sensitively coaxing the rest out of us. Of course, it should also be noted that he knew and drew out the information needed to make the Pharmacy Profile as effective as possible.

The next step, the marketing of the pharmacy is obviously of paramount importance to any seller, and here Stewart’s brokerage really came to the fore for us, with his network of potential buyers meaning that he was marketing our pharmacy to a wide range of potential buyers.

As a result, we had an (according to Stewart) record number of potential purchasers, with over 70 signing the Confidentiality Deed, and an active bidding cycle that resulted in us accepting an offer above Stewart’s and our valuations.

It sounds easy to say, but it was due, we believe, to hard work and thorough preparation from Stewart.

And then, once you have accepted an offer, there is then the work needed to satisfy the purchasers Due Diligence requirements. Stewart’s own quote is that “getting the purchasers signature is only 30% of the work, the other 70% is getting from signing to settlement!” Again, you have to provide a lot of information, but Stewart was as supportive as possible, and acted as an always available go-between.

The other point that becomes important at this stage is that Stewart, as well as his own expertise, also has connections, for example he recommends options for a Lawyer to draw up contracts on your behalf (and you would be crazy not to follow them).

I know there are a number of pharmacy brokers, and we really didn’t know a lot about any of them, so we sought some advice from other pharmacists, Stewart came well recommended and we can only add our recommendation. He was truly an honest broker, and was sensitive to and adjusted well to meet our needs.

As we move into retirement, we acknowledge that Stewart played a major role in setting us up to enjoy that. We are very happy to highly recommend him to anyone seeking a pharmacy broker.”