Key facts: Preston
- Community pharmacies, Lancashire and South Cumbria, 2024/25
- 403
- Openings / closures, 2024/25
- 35 / 40
- Independent share (5 or fewer pharmacies)
- 46.4% (England 49.9%)
- Average items per pharmacy
- 102,758 (England 104,192)
- New Medicine Service consultations per pharmacy
- 483 (England 508)
- Commissioning ICB
- NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB
2024/25 figures from NHS Business Services Authority pharmacy statistics for the ICB that covers Preston; ranks are among the 37 ICBs outside London.
Preston pharmacies: who owns them
Across Lancashire and South Cumbria, which takes in Preston, there were 403 NHS community pharmacies in 2024/25. Independents (five or fewer pharmacies) held 187 of them, 46.4%, and multiples 216; the England share of independents is 49.9%, and Lancashire and South Cumbria ranks 19th of 37 on it.
Ownership here splits much as it does across England, so neither independents nor multiples dominate the sales market.
Openings and closures in 2024/25
Closure rate is a useful test of local pressure: in Lancashire and South Cumbria it was 9.9% in 2024/25 (40 pharmacies), against 6.4% for England, putting the ICB 3rd of 37. 35 opened over the same period.
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.
Around Preston, New Medicine Service activity per pharmacy was 512 in Liverpool (Cheshire and Merseyside), 526 in Manchester (Greater Manchester) and 579 in Leeds (West Yorkshire), against 483 here.
How busy Preston pharmacies are
Across the year, 41,411,600 NHS items were dispensed here: 102,758 for the average pharmacy, where England's average is 104,192; only 17 of 37 ICBs were busier. Electronic prescriptions made up 96.2%. Volumes close to the national average put the focus on the individual pharmacy's trend.
Hypertension case-finding ran in 370 Lancashire and South Cumbria pharmacies (91.8%, England 86.4%); the area also delivered 194,775 New Medicine Service consultations and 133,570 NHS flu vaccinations in 2024/25. Lenders count services income alongside dispensing, so a good record here strengthens the case.
Buying a pharmacy in Preston
Buying in Preston? 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
Buying a pharmacy freehold in England brings Stamp Duty Land Tax at non-residential rates, and a lender secures the loan with a legal charge registered at HM Land Registry. If the building is rented, lenders read the lease closely: a short unexpired term caps the loan term.
Before completion a lender will want the change of ownership application to Lancashire and South Cumbria under way and the premises registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council in the buyer's name.
Lenders for Preston pharmacies
We hold no lender lists by town, and lenders for pharmacies lend nationally rather than city by city. For a Preston case we search the whole market. Fees depend on the lender, with nothing upfront.
Common questions
How many pharmacies are there around Preston?
403 community pharmacies dispensed NHS prescriptions in NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB during 2024/25 (NHS Business Services Authority). 35 opened and 40 closed in the year.
How many items does a Preston pharmacy dispense?
The Lancashire and South Cumbria average for 2024/25 was 102,758 items per pharmacy; England's was 104,192.
How independent is the Lancashire and South Cumbria pharmacy market?
46.4% of pharmacies belonged to contractors with five or fewer pharmacies in 2024/25, against 49.9% across England.
