Insights
Pharmacy transaction guides
Long-form, number-heavy guides written by pharmacists who buy and sell pharmacies. The goal of every article: you walk into your deal knowing more than the other side expects.
8 guides
Selling your pharmacy
The sale from first decision to closing day: who buys, how long it takes, what to prepare, how to keep it confidential, and what changes if you sell without a broker.
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The pharmacy sale process and timeline in Canada
Learn the complete pharmacy sale process in Canada. Discover timelines, key steps, documentation, and what to expect from listing to closing day.
Who buys pharmacies in Canada, and how the routes compare for a seller
The five ways to sell a pharmacy in Canada: to Shoppers Drug Mart or another chain, to a consolidator like Neighbourly, to a grocer, to a banner backed independent, or through a managed sale with competing offers. What each route pays, how each deal is structured, and what happens to your staff and your name.
12 min readCanada's pharmacy consolidators in 2026: who they are and how they buy
Who is buying pharmacies in Canada in 2026: Neighbourly, PharmaCorp, Shoppers, Sobeys, Pattison, Metro, Rexall, Co-op and CareRx: owners, size, deal style.
16 min readHow long does it take to sell a pharmacy in Canada?
A managed pharmacy sale in Canada takes 6 to 12 months from decision to funds: 4 to 8 weeks of preparation, 2 to 3 for valuation, 4 to 12 of confidential marketing, 1 to 2 for the letter of intent, 4 to 8 of due diligence, 2 to 4 for agreements and 2 to 4 to close. What makes it faster or slower.
4 min readWhat documents do I need to sell my pharmacy? The full list, by stage
Every document a Canadian pharmacy seller needs, from the first valuation to closing day: financials, the normalization schedule, aggregated prescription data, the lease, staff records, licences, contracts and the closing file. Which ones buyers ask for first, and a downloadable checklist.
5 min readHow a confidential pharmacy sale works: NDAs, blind profiles and when staff find out
How to sell a pharmacy in Canada without staff, patients, suppliers or competitors finding out: the blind profile, the NDA every buyer signs, staged disclosure, buyer visits, and who must be told and when. With a downloadable NDA template.
7 min readSelling your pharmacy to retire: timing, tax, succession and what happens to your staff
How Canadian pharmacy owners sell to retire: when to start (12 to 24 months out), share versus asset sale and the lifetime capital gains exemption, selling to a staff pharmacist or a family member, vendor financing, the transition period, and what to tell staff and patients.
7 min readSelling your pharmacy without a broker: an honest guide for experienced owners
Can you sell your pharmacy without a broker in Canada? What a self-sale involves, where value leaks, what broker fees really cost, and the middle options.
16 min read
6 guides
Valuation and price
What a pharmacy is worth, how normalized EBITDA and the multiple are set, and how clinic, long term care and compounding pharmacies are priced.
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How much is my pharmacy worth? A Canadian owner's guide to the number
What a Canadian pharmacy is worth in 2026: most community pharmacies sell for 4x to 6x normalized EBITDA plus inventory at cost. Three worked examples by store size, the provincial baselines, what moves the multiple, and the revenue rule of thumb that does not apply in Canada.
Pharmacy valuation in Canada: how the number is built
Most Canadian community pharmacies we see sell for 4x to 6x normalized EBITDA. How the multiple is set, what moves it, and provincial factors for 2026.
13 min readPharmacy EBITDA explained: normalization, add-backs and what buyers pay for it
Normalized EBITDA is the number a Canadian pharmacy sells on. The add-backs buyers and lenders accept, a worked example ($230,000 reported becomes $285,000 normalized), and the adjustments that get rejected.
17 min readWhat a pharmacy attached to a medical clinic is worth
How buyers, lenders and brokers value a pharmacy with a medical clinic for sale: referral traffic, physician dependence, shared leases, and holdbacks.
13 min readLong-term care pharmacy valuation in Canada
How LTC pharmacies are valued in Canada: contract concentration, per bed economics and provincial funding such as Ontario and BC capitation fees.
22 min readHow a compounding pharmacy is valued in Canada
How buyers and brokers value a Canadian compounding pharmacy: EBITDA multiples, hard assets, replacement cost, prescriber risk and deal structure.
9 min read
3 guides
Owning a pharmacy
Who is allowed to own a pharmacy in each province, the routes to ownership, and what owners actually take home.
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Who can own a pharmacy in Canada? Province by province (2026)
Who can own a pharmacy in Canada in 2026: non-pharmacist ownership, pharmacist control rules, managers, notice periods and ownership fees in all ten provinces.
4 ways to own a pharmacy in Canada: start up, buy, banner or Shoppers associate
How to own a pharmacy in Canada: start up, buy, join a banner or become a Shoppers associate. Real costs, timelines, financing and what you can sell later.
16 min readHow much do pharmacy owners make in Canada? Salary, profit and what's left
How much pharmacy owners make in Canada: pharmacist pay plus profit, real margin data, examples from our deals, loan payments, tax and what is actually left.
15 min read
9 guides
Lease is Everything
Why the lease decides a pharmacy sale: what lenders accept, how rent sets value, landlord consent, guarantees, demolition clauses, and how to fix the lease before you list.
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Lease is Everything: why the lease decides your pharmacy sale
In a pharmacy sale the lease decides whether the bank lends, what the pharmacy is worth and what the seller keeps. The hub for our Lease is Everything series.
Will the bank accept your pharmacy lease?
Lenders set pharmacy loan amortization from the remaining lease including solid options, usually 10 to 12 years. What counts, and what a short lease costs.
14 min readHow rent changes what a pharmacy is worth
Rent sits inside EBITDA, so $30,000 of extra rent takes about $150,000 off a pharmacy's value at 5x. What pharmacies pay, CAM, TMI, escalations and multiples.
14 min readAssignment, sublease, share sale or new lease: how a pharmacy lease changes hands
The four ways a pharmacy lease changes hands in a sale: assignment, sublease, change of control in a share sale, or a new lease, and what each does to price.
15 min readWhen the landlord says no, or says nothing
What a landlord can ask before consenting to a pharmacy lease assignment, how consent derails sales, what courts say about refusals, and what the deal must say.
16 min readLease clauses that protect a future pharmacy sale
The pharmacy lease clauses to negotiate at signing or renewal so the store can be sold later: transferable options, assignment, release, renewal rent and more.
17 min readYou sold the pharmacy. Are you still on the lease?
Selling a pharmacy does not take you off the lease. Why landlord consent is not a release, how guarantees run into renewals, and what to insist on at closing.
15 min readDemolition and relocation clauses: the ten-year lease that is not
A demolition or relocation clause can turn a ten-year pharmacy lease into a short one. What it does to financing, the licence and price, and what to negotiate.
14 min readFix the lease before you list the pharmacy
A short lease can cut a pharmacy's price by half or more. Eight steps to fix the lease before you list: documents, lawyer, lender, extension, consent package.
14 min read
4 guides
Deal terms and financing
The letter of intent, how the sale is structured, what banks lend against a pharmacy, and when a vendor take-back fills the gap.
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Letter of intent for a pharmacy purchase in Canada: every clause explained, with a template
What a pharmacy LOI covers in Canada, clause by clause: price, assets or shares, inventory, deposit, due diligence period, exclusivity, conditions and what binds. With a downloadable term sheet template for buyers and sellers.
Asset sale vs share sale for a Canadian pharmacy
Asset sale or share sale? Learn the tax, legal, and liability differences for Canadian pharmacy transactions and which structure protects you best.
27 min readPharmacy loans in Canada: what banks require and why applications get declined
Canadian banks typically finance 60% to 75% of a pharmacy purchase and look for about 1.25x debt service coverage. What they check, a worked example ($1.2M at 6.5% over 10 years is $163,509 a year), and why pharmacy loan applications get declined.
28 min readVendor take-back financing in pharmacy sales
How vendor take-back (VTB) financing works in Canadian pharmacy sales: typical structures, market terms, tax implications, and when seller financing fits.
27 min read
4 guides
Buying in Alberta
Multiples, the 2026 funding changes, pharmacist services income and the College process in Alberta, and the Calgary to Edmonton corridor.
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Buying a pharmacy in Alberta: multiples, funding, and the College process
How to buy a pharmacy in Alberta in 2026: valuation multiples, the licensee rule, the ACP ownership change, Blue Cross enrolment, and bank financing.
How Alberta's 2026 pharmacy funding changes affect profit and valuation
What the per pharmacist cap, 90 day fills and October fee changes do to an Alberta pharmacy's EBITDA, wages, staffing and sale value.
17 min readAlberta pharmacy services income guide (2026): fees and the $13,000 cap
Alberta pharmacist services fees for 2026, how the $13,000 per pharmacist cap works, the October care plan claim rules, and what services earn an owner.
16 min readPharmacies on the Calgary to Edmonton corridor: what buyers should know
Why buyers looking for a pharmacy for sale near Calgary should study the Highway 2 corridor towns: growth, clinic ties, rent, banners, and competition.
12 min read
5 guides
Building and running a pharmacy
Opening a compounding pharmacy, its first year of numbers, where compounding margins come from, the new controlled substances rules, and the pharmacy website.
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What it costs to build a compounding pharmacy in Canada
Real build costs for a Canadian compounding pharmacy: non sterile lab, hazardous room and sterile suite, priced from invoices, quotes and our own projects.
The first year of a compounding pharmacy: revenue and profit, month by month
How a new Canadian compounding pharmacy ramps up: a month by month model of prescriptions, revenue and gross profit built from real start up data, and what to plan for.
9 min readCompounding pharmacy profit margins in Canada, by product type
Real gross margins for Canadian compounding pharmacies by product: pain creams, hormones, men's health, paediatrics and B2B, plus payer mix and pricing.
8 min readCanada's new Controlled Substances Regulations: what changed for pharmacies on October 1, 2026
Health Canada's Controlled Substances Regulations took effect October 1, 2026. What changed for pharmacists and technicians, and how each province applies it.
7 min readPharmacy website design in Canada: the guide
What a Canadian pharmacy website must include, what it costs, and how to avoid compliance mistakes. A guide by two practising pharmacists and pharmacy owners.
21 min read