Sell a pharmacy
Sell your pharmacy confidentially, at its real value
You built this pharmacy one prescription at a time. Selling it is the largest financial transaction of your career, and it deserves better than one buyer's offer on that buyer's terms. We are practising pharmacists who have sold pharmacies of our own, and we run a confidential, managed process that puts every buyer type in front of you at once.
Selling a pharmacy in Canada, in brief
A Canadian community pharmacy is sold for a multiple of its normalized EBITDA, most commonly 4x to 6x, plus inventory at cost; the provincial baselines behind that range are published on our valuation page. A managed sale takes 6 to 12 months from decision to funds, in seven stages: preparation, valuation, confidential marketing, letter of intent, due diligence, agreements and closing, with the provincial College's approval of the ownership change built into the closing date. The buyers are national chains, consolidators, grocery owned pharmacy groups, banner backed independents and individual pharmacists, and each values a store differently, which is why a pharmacy presented to all of them at once sells for more than one presented to the first buyer who calls. Our fee is a success fee earned at closing.
The numbers
What your pharmacy is actually worth
A pharmacy for sale in Canada typically trades at a multiple of normalized EBITDA plus inventory. The multiple moves with province, size, payer mix, lease security, and staff stability, which is why two pharmacies with identical revenue can sell for very different prices.
4x to 6x
normalized EBITDA plus inventory for community pharmacies
3x to 7x
for LTC pharmacies, often $2,500 to $4,500 per bed
$1.5M
example: $300K normalized EBITDA at 5x, plus inventory
The word doing the work is normalized. Owner salary above market rate, family members on payroll, personal vehicle costs, one-time expenses: each adjustment moves your EBITDA, and every dollar of EBITDA moves your price by four to six dollars. See our guides to how much a pharmacy is worth and EBITDA normalization, then get your number.
Get a free valuation estimateThe buyers
Who buys independent pharmacies in Canada
Five routes, each with a different price, a different structure and a different store left behind. Going straight to one of them is one offer on that buyer's terms. A managed sale puts all five at the table.
National chains
Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix (Loblaw), Jean Coutu (Metro), Rexall. The store is converted to the banner; the pharmacy team usually stays.
Consolidators
Neighbourly Pharmacy and regional groups. Ownership changes; the name, manager and team usually stay. They pay for stores that fit the network.
Grocery owned groups
Save-On-Foods (Jim Pattison Group), Sobeys, Calgary Co-op, Loblaw and Metro grocery banners. Often buying the files to serve from a store they already run.
Banner backed independents
Pharmacist buyers supported by McKesson's banners (Guardian, I.D.A., Remedy'sRx, Medicine Shoppe) or Pharmasave, whose business development teams place buyers in stores.
Independent pharmacists
The largest buyer pool by count in every province. They price on cash flow after the bank's coverage test, and the deal depends on their financing.
All of them, at once
We present qualified pharmacies to the acquisition teams at Shoppers Drug Mart, Neighbourly, Sobeys, the Jim Pattison Group, McKesson, Pharmasave, CareRx and Calgary Co-op, and to our independent buyer list, on the same information under NDA.
The process
Seven stages from decision to closing day
A managed pharmacy sale takes 6 to 12 months. Here is exactly what happens, how long each stage typically runs, and the guide for each. For the full walkthrough, read our selling a pharmacy timeline.
Preparation
4 to 8 weeksWe normalize your financials, clean up the story a buyer will read, and fix the small issues that cost real money in due diligence: lease terms, staffing contracts, expiring agreements.
What documents you need →Valuation
2 to 3 weeksA defensible valuation built on normalized EBITDA, current provincial multiples, and documented adjustments. This becomes the anchor for every negotiation that follows.
How much is my pharmacy worth →Confidential marketing
4 to 12 weeksYour pharmacy is presented anonymously to every buyer type that fits: chains, consolidators, grocers, banner backed buyers and our qualified independent buyer list. No buyer sees identifying details before signing an NDA.
How confidentiality works →Letter of intent
1 to 2 weeksWe negotiate price, structure, and conditions with the strongest buyers, and help you compare offers on more than the headline number.
The letter of intent, clause by clause →Due diligence
4 to 8 weeksThe buyer and their bank verify everything. Because we prepared the file in stage one, this is confirmation, not discovery.
What due diligence covers →Agreements
2 to 4 weeksYour lawyer drafts and negotiates the purchase agreement while we keep the commercial terms aligned with the LOI.
Asset sale or share sale →Closing and transfer
2 to 4 weeksRegulatory transfer with the provincial college, banner and supplier assignments, inventory count, and funds on closing day.
How long the whole process takes →Confidentiality
How confidentiality is protected
A leaked sale can cost you staff, unsettle patients, and hand negotiating leverage to buyers and competitors. Confidentiality is not a courtesy in a pharmacy sale, it is a price protection mechanism.
Every pharmacy for sale through us is marketed anonymously: no name, no address, no identifying details in any public material. Buyers are qualified first, sign a non-disclosure agreement second, and only then receive financials. Site visits happen outside pharmacy hours or under a plausible pretext, and your staff learn about the sale on your schedule, not the market's.
Our guide to running a confidential pharmacy sale explains the sequence, who must be told and when, and includes the NDA every buyer signs.
The confidentiality sequence
- Anonymous listing: region and profile only, never a name or address
- Buyer qualification: proof of financial capacity before any details
- Signed NDA before financials or identifying information
- Patient data aggregated and de identified until closing
- Discreet site visits arranged around your operating hours
- Staff, patients, and suppliers informed when you choose
Before you sell
The seller readiness checklist
The sale takes 6 to 12 months. The 12 to 24 months before it are when an owner fixes the things that cost money in due diligence. The checklist covers the items we see most often, grouped into eight areas, with why each matters to a buyer and a lender:
- Earnings and the file: accountant prepared statements, a documented normalization schedule, 36 months of revenue by category
- Lease and premises: ten years including renewals, the assignment clause read, the landlord current
- People: the store runs without you, services billing spread across pharmacists, a complete staff list
- Prescriptions and customers: counts, payer mix and prescriber shares measured from the system
- Contracts and operations: wholesaler, banner, institutional and software agreements read for what happens on a sale
- Regulatory: inspection findings closed, controlled substance records complete
- Structure and tax: share or asset sale modelled, exemption eligibility checked two years out
- You: a date, a reason, a preferred buyer and a transition you would accept
Also read: selling your pharmacy to retire and the documents you will need.
Get the checklist
Four pages, PDF and Word, with a status column for each item. We email you the link so you have it when you need it.
Ready for a deal-ready number?
The valuation information request lists every record we need for a valuation a buyer and a bank will rely on, in your province's own terms. Fillable PDF, one edition per province.
Get the information request for your province →Fees
What it costs
Our brokerage fee is a success fee, earned at closing. If your pharmacy does not sell, you do not pay a brokerage fee. That structure keeps our incentives exactly where they belong: we make more when you sell for more, and we make nothing if we fail.
Standalone work, such as a professional valuation without a sale mandate or scoped advisory on a deal you are running yourself, is quoted upfront based on complexity. No retainers that reward activity over results, and no surprise line items at closing.
Before any engagement we walk you through the fee structure in plain numbers against your expected sale price, so you know what you keep before you commit. If part of the deal changes structure, for example an asset sale versus a share sale, we tell you how that affects your net proceeds too.
Guides for sellers
Read before you decide
How much is my pharmacy worth?
The number, three worked examples, and the revenue rule of thumb that does not apply in Canada.
Who buys pharmacies in Canada
Chains, consolidators, grocers, banner backed buyers and independents, compared.
The seven stage timeline
Every stage from preparation to closing, with what happens and how long it takes.
The letter of intent
Every clause explained, what sellers push back on, with a template.
Keeping the sale confidential
NDAs, blind profiles, who is told and when, with an NDA template.
The documents you will need
Every document by stage, from the valuation to closing day, with a checklist.
How long does it take?
Six to twelve months, and what makes a sale faster or slower.
Selling to retire
Timing, the tax decision, succession to staff or family, and the transition.
EBITDA normalization
The add backs buyers accept, the ones they reject, and how to document them.
Ready when you are
Whether your pharmacy for sale is a decision you have already made or an idea you are quietly testing, the right first step is a number and a conversation. If a buyer has already called, talk to us before you reply. Browse current listings to see how we present a pharmacy for sale to the market.