Key facts: Liverpool
- NHS pharmacies in Cheshire and Merseyside (2024/25)
- 569
- Opened / closed in the year
- 24 / 33
- Run by independents
- 37.4% (England 49.9%)
- Items dispensed per pharmacy
- 109,878 (England 104,192)
- NMS consultations per pharmacy
- 512 (England 508)
- NHS commissioner
- NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB
Source: NHS Business Services Authority, General Pharmaceutical Services 2024/25, Cheshire and Merseyside figures. 37 ICBs outside London are ranked.
Liverpool pharmacies: who owns them
Who owns the pharmacies matters to anyone buying one. In Cheshire and Merseyside in 2024/25, 213 of 569 NHS community pharmacies (37.4%) belonged to independents with five or fewer branches and 356 to multiples. England's independent share is 49.9%; Cheshire and Merseyside ranks 32nd of 37.
With multiples holding more of the market than nationally, an independent pharmacy that comes up for sale here can draw competing buyers. Having finance lined up before you offer helps.
Pharmacy openings and closures, Cheshire and Merseyside
Closure rate is a useful test of local pressure: in Cheshire and Merseyside it was 5.8% in 2024/25 (33 pharmacies), against 6.4% for England, putting the ICB 22nd of 37. 24 opened over the same period.
When a pharmacy closes, its prescriptions move to those that remain. That can lift volumes at a well-placed pharmacy, but lenders want to see the uplift in dispensing figures, not only in a forecast.
For comparison, Preston (Lancashire and South Cumbria) averaged 102,758 items per pharmacy with 46.4% independent, Manchester (Greater Manchester) averaged 100,220 items per pharmacy with 47.5% independent and Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent) averaged 108,300 items per pharmacy with 47.1% independent.
Dispensing volumes and NHS services
Across the year, 62,520,462 NHS items were dispensed here: 109,878 for the average pharmacy, where England's average is 104,192; only 9 of 37 ICBs were busier. Electronic prescriptions made up 97.0%. Higher volumes per pharmacy support stronger dispensing income, which is what lenders value most in a pharmacy purchase.
Services add income beyond dispensing: 291,134 New Medicine Service consultations (512 per pharmacy, England 508), 211,804 NHS flu vaccinations from 491 pharmacies, and 90.9% of pharmacies running hypertension case-finding (England 86.4%). A strong services record gives a lender more than one income stream to rely on.
Financing a Liverpool pharmacy purchase
Buying in Liverpool? 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
A pharmacy freehold bought in England is subject to Stamp Duty Land Tax on non-residential rates. Any premises loan is secured by a legal charge registered with HM Land Registry. Where the premises are leased, the remaining term and any break clause limit how long a loan can run.
The incoming owner applies for the NHS change of ownership and registers the premises with the General Pharmaceutical Council; lenders expect both in hand before completion.
Lenders for Liverpool pharmacies
There is no Liverpool lender panel. Lenders that understand pharmacies work across the country, so we search the whole market for each case. Fees depend on the lender and nothing is charged upfront.
Common questions
Are Liverpool pharmacies opening or closing?
In 2024/25, 24 opened and 33 closed across Cheshire and Merseyside, leaving 569 on NHS Business Services Authority figures.
How busy are pharmacies in Cheshire and Merseyside?
They averaged 109,878 items each in 2024/25, against 104,192 across England.
How independent is the Cheshire and Merseyside pharmacy market?
37.4% of pharmacies belonged to contractors with five or fewer pharmacies in 2024/25, against 49.9% across England.
