Pharmacists prescribed £16m by investment syndicate

A £16 MILLION investment syndicate has been launched to allow pharmacists to take advantage of changes in the way treatment is delivered within the National Health Service (NHS).

Under the scheme, the syndicate will buy chemists shops and then lease them back to newly-qualified pharmacists, who will have the chance to buy the stores after five years.

The syndicate has been set up by AlbaPharm, an Aberdeen-based buying group for pharmacies that has 200 members in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England.

Financial backing for the project includes 4.8m from private equity investors and 11m from high street banks.

Pharmacists have been taking on a larger role in delivering healthcare since the then Scottish Executive introduced its community pharmacy contract in April 2006. Under the scheme, chemists have been giving treatments for minor ailments and also offering more advice.

David Currie, chief executive of AlbaPharm, said: "The community pharmacy contracts recognise the role of community pharmacists as full partners in the healthcare system through the provision of wider clinical services in the pharmacy.

"Yet, young pharmacists find it increasingly difficult to secure funding to launch and build their own practices.

"Four years ago, we predicted these changing needs among our pharmacy membership and have worked hard to create the syndicate."

Currie - who spent 30 years in corporate and commercial banking at Royal Bank of Scotland before joining AlbaPharm in 2007 - added: "We have worked closely with our corporate and financial advisors to ensure the selected pharmacies will have good growth potential.

"We believe we can also offer potential investors an exciting opportunity."

AlbaPharm was set up in 1999 as a co-operative by a group of privately-owned pharmacies to negotiate better trading terms. The business is owned by its members.

The buying group said that it would offer a mentoring service to newly-qualified pharmacists, along with affordable professional indemnity insurance.

Peter Gallanagh, a partner at accountancy firm Campbell Dallas, which helped to set up the syndicate along side law firm Harper Macleod, said: "This is a unique opportunity for pharmacists and investors.

"Investors in the syndicate are expected to qualify for attractive tax benefits that were increased in the recent Budget to encourage investment in qualifying companies and now provide income tax relief at 30 per cent of amounts invested."

There are more than 1,200 community pharmacies in Scotland, operated by about 350 firms, according to data from the National Pharmacy Association.