Key facts: Ipswich
- Community pharmacies, Suffolk and North East Essex, 2024/25
- 171
- Openings / closures, 2024/25
- 6 / 9
- Independent share (5 or fewer pharmacies)
- 45.0% (England 49.9%)
- Average items per pharmacy
- 118,778 (England 104,192)
- New Medicine Service consultations per pharmacy
- 551 (England 508)
- Commissioning ICB
- NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB
2024/25 figures from NHS Business Services Authority pharmacy statistics for the ICB that covers Ipswich; ranks are among the 37 ICBs outside London.
Community pharmacy in Suffolk and North East Essex
Who owns the pharmacies matters to anyone buying one. In Suffolk and North East Essex in 2024/25, 77 of 171 NHS community pharmacies (45.0%) belonged to independents with five or fewer branches and 94 to multiples. England's independent share is 49.9%; Suffolk and North East Essex ranks 20th of 37.
Ownership here splits much as it does across England, so neither independents nor multiples dominate the sales market.
Openings and closures in 2024/25
6 pharmacies opened and 9 closed during 2024/25, a net loss of 3. Closures were 5.3% of the Suffolk and North East Essex total (England 6.4%), 24th highest of 37.
Closures redistribute prescriptions to surviving pharmacies. For a buyer this can mean rising items, though a lender will lend against the history already in the figures.
For comparison, Norwich (Norfolk and Waveney) averaged 102,051 items per pharmacy with 49.7% independent, Chelmsford (Mid and South Essex) averaged 100,629 items per pharmacy with 49.5% independent and Cambridge (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough) averaged 114,640 items per pharmacy with 52.4% independent.
How busy Ipswich pharmacies are
Suffolk and North East Essex pharmacies dispensed 20,310,966 items in 2024/25, 118,778 per pharmacy against 104,192 for England (4th busiest of 37 ICBs). 96.6% of items went through the Electronic Prescription Service. Higher volumes per pharmacy support stronger dispensing income, which is what lenders value most in a pharmacy purchase.
On services, pharmacies here gave 86,695 NHS flu jabs (582 per participating pharmacy, England 437) and 94,292 New Medicine Service consultations, while 87.1% offered hypertension case-finding against 86.4% nationally. Lenders count services income alongside dispensing, so a good record here strengthens the case.
Buying a pharmacy in Ipswich
Buying in Ipswich? Expect the lender to ask for three years of dispensing and services figures, the lease, and how much you are putting in. Fund stock and the gap before NHS payments with working capital, and read buying a pharmacy first. The practice purchase loan calculator shows repayments against profit.
Premises, regulation and security
In England, a pharmacy freehold bought outright attracts Stamp Duty Land Tax on the non-residential scale, and the lender's security is a legal charge at HM Land Registry. For leased premises, expect a lender to ask for the lease and to match the loan term to it.
Before completion a lender will want the change of ownership application to Suffolk and North East Essex under way and the premises registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council in the buyer's name.
Lenders for Ipswich pharmacies
Which lender suits a Ipswich case depends on the pharmacy and the deal, not the postcode. We search the whole market each time. Fees depend on the lender, and nothing is due upfront.
Common questions
How many pharmacies are there around Ipswich?
171 community pharmacies dispensed NHS prescriptions in NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB during 2024/25 (NHS Business Services Authority). 6 opened and 9 closed in the year.
How many items does a Ipswich pharmacy dispense?
The Suffolk and North East Essex average for 2024/25 was 118,778 items per pharmacy; England's was 104,192.
How independent is the Suffolk and North East Essex pharmacy market?
45.0% of pharmacies belonged to contractors with five or fewer pharmacies in 2024/25, against 49.9% across England.
