Key facts: Northampton
- NHS pharmacies in Northamptonshire (2024/25)
- 133
- Opened / closed in the year
- 8 / 9
- Run by independents
- 48.1% (England 49.9%)
- Items dispensed per pharmacy
- 115,870 (England 104,192)
- NMS consultations per pharmacy
- 571 (England 508)
- NHS commissioner
- NHS Northamptonshire ICB
Source: NHS Business Services Authority, General Pharmaceutical Services 2024/25, Northamptonshire figures. 37 ICBs outside London are ranked.
The pharmacy market around Northampton
Who owns the pharmacies matters to anyone buying one. In Northamptonshire in 2024/25, 64 of 133 NHS community pharmacies (48.1%) belonged to independents with five or fewer branches and 69 to multiples. England's independent share is 49.9%; Northamptonshire ranks 16th of 37.
The balance between independents and multiples is close to the national picture.
Pharmacy openings and closures, Northamptonshire
The year brought 9 closures and 8 openings, leaving 1 fewer pharmacies. As a share of the network, Northamptonshire lost 6.8% to closure, set against 6.4% nationally (rank 15 of 37).
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, Milton Keynes (Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes) averaged 99,180 items per pharmacy with 48.8% independent, Leicester (Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland) averaged 100,434 items per pharmacy with 64.7% independent and Coventry (Coventry and Warwickshire) averaged 101,874 items per pharmacy with 53.4% independent.
Dispensing volumes and NHS services
Across the year, 15,410,672 NHS items were dispensed here: 115,870 for the average pharmacy, where England's average is 104,192; only 4 of 37 ICBs were busier. Electronic prescriptions made up 97.4%. Higher volumes per pharmacy support stronger dispensing income, which is what lenders value most in a pharmacy purchase.
Services add income beyond dispensing: 76,002 New Medicine Service consultations (571 per pharmacy, England 508), 60,123 NHS flu vaccinations from 120 pharmacies, and 91.0% 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 Northampton pharmacy purchase
Buying in Northampton? 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. If the building is rented, lenders read the lease closely: a short unexpired term caps the loan term.
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 Northampton pharmacies
Lenders for pharmacies are not organised by region, so neither is our search: for Northampton, as anywhere, we search the whole market and approach the lenders whose criteria fit. Fees depend on the lender; nothing is payable upfront.
Common questions
Are Northampton pharmacies opening or closing?
In 2024/25, 8 opened and 9 closed across Northamptonshire, leaving 133 on NHS Business Services Authority figures.
How busy are pharmacies in Northamptonshire?
They averaged 115,870 items each in 2024/25, against 104,192 across England.
How independent is the Northamptonshire pharmacy market?
48.1% of pharmacies belonged to contractors with five or fewer pharmacies in 2024/25, against 49.9% across England.
