Pharmacy property loans

Ardent Capital Group brings the same method to every client: execution and strategy, clear advice for smart lending, and long-term growth. That means the right lender, structure and timing, straight advice so you borrow with confidence, and today's deal built toward where you want to be tomorrow. We are specialists in helping business owners secure finance to purchase their own property, and we understand the complex structures that often sit around it, including multiple trusts, holding companies and self-managed super funds. In a lender's eyes a pharmacy sits between retail and healthcare, so we take it to those who read the trading numbers fairly and lend against a well-run dispensary. Buying the building turns rent into equity and locks in the location you have built the business around, and we are still here to fund a second location when it comes. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

The PBS approval number is the licence that lets a pharmacy dispense subsidised medicines, and it is tied to the approved location, not to you. Because most of a pharmacy's value flows from that approval and its catchment, lenders treat the location as the real asset and lend more conservatively on it than on a medical clinic, usually 65% to 70% on the freehold. The community pharmacy location rules also limit how close a new approval can open to an existing one, which protects the goodwill you are buying. We make sure the PBS approval, the location and the ownership all line up before a lender sees the file.

They are two different loans, often on the same submission. The freehold is a commercial property loan secured against the premises, typically up to 65% to 70% LVR. The business, which is mostly goodwill plus fit-out and stock, is lent separately and assessed on the pharmacy's earnings rather than bricks and mortar. Many pharmacists buy the business first on a leasehold going concern and acquire the freehold later, and we structure the finance so each part sits with the right lender.

A pharmacy's premises and its business are valued on different bases. The freehold is valued as commercial property, with weight on the location because the PBS approval is fixed to it. The business is valued mainly on goodwill, calculated as a multiple of turnover or EBITDA, using script volume, PBS revenue and the front-of-shop retail split from the accounts. A strong, growing script base in a protected location lifts the goodwill figure well above the value of the fit-out.

For a pharmacy freehold you occupy, expect around 65% to 70% LVR with pharmacy-specialist bank desks, lower than the 75% to 80% a recognised medical clinic attracts. The business and goodwill are funded separately, usually to 50% to 70% of the price, and an SMSF purchase caps at 65% to 75%. Your script volume and location move the final number, so talk to us.

Yes, and it is one of the most common pharmacy purchases we see. Most of these are business purchases on a retail lease, where the lender looks closely at the lease term, any options, and how dependent the scripts are on co-located GPs. If the strata unit is also for sale, we can finance the premises as a freehold alongside the business. A short lease or a demolition clause is the main risk, so we flag it early rather than let it stall the approval.

Yes, it is possible, and we arrange these. It is also one of the more intricate purchases in commercial finance, and the detail is what decides whether it works. The fund borrows under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, so the premises sits in a separate holding trust and the lender can only come after that one property. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property: a property trading wholly as a business generally qualifies, a property with a residence attached generally does not. Your pharmacy leases the premises back from the fund, in writing, at market rent supported by an independent appraisal, and the rent has to actually be paid. SMSF lending caps well below a standard purchase, so the fund provides its own deposit and the full-price funding available outside super does not apply here. Cross-collateralisation is not available inside super either. Lenders cap SMSF lending below a standard purchase, generally between 65% and 75%, and want cash left in the fund after settlement. We know this sounds complicated. It is, and that is exactly why we do it every day. Reach out to our team and we will guide you through the entire process. We structure the finance, tell you which lenders will take pharmacy premises as SMSF security and on what terms, and bring in the SMSF specialists and licensed advisers who set the fund side up. You will not be working it out on your own. Get that right and it is a solid, compliant structure.

For a full-doc application, lenders want two to three years of the pharmacy's financial statements and tax returns, personal tax returns for all guarantors, the contract or lease, and the PBS approval details. Where you buy through a company or trust, the deed or constitution and its financials are needed too. Many pharmacy buyers are self-employed and their paperwork understates their real position, so non-bank alt-doc and low-doc options let income be evidenced through an accountant's declaration, BAS or bank statements. These carry slightly higher rates but open the door, and we work through your income upfront to pick the best approach.

For a straightforward pharmacy purchase, most clients receive indicative terms within 48 hours of our first conversation, with formal approval usually following in three to five weeks. A freehold plus business, an SMSF structure, or a group ownership arrangement takes longer, because there are more moving parts and ownership approvals to confirm. We give you a realistic timeline upfront so your settlement date and the vendor's timetable stay intact.

Often, yes. A decline usually means the deal went to a lender without a real pharmacy desk, which read the goodwill as an unsecured risk rather than a valued earnings stream. Specialist pharmacy financiers and non-bank lenders assess script volume, PBS revenue and location differently, and a structuring or presentation issue is frequently all that stood between you and an approval. We will give you an honest assessment of what is possible before proceeding.

Most of the time, no. We are paid a commission by the lender once your loan settles, so there is no cost to you. Where your financials are complex, the ownership structure is involved, or the purchase requires significant preparation before it can go to a lender, a small mandate fee may apply depending on the complexity. We will always be upfront about this before any work begins.

Although we are based in Sydney, we service clients across all major Australian cities, including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart, along with their surrounding regional areas. Wherever your pharmacy is located, we can arrange your finance.

Although our main speciality is property loans for business owners, we also assist with pharmacy fit-out finance and working capital for pharmacies. On asset finance, that covers dispensary automation, shelving and retail fit-out, refrigeration, and point-of-sale systems. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to cover stock and inventory, the timing gap on PBS reimbursements, and wages.

Yes. That is our core ethos, helping you understand the right strategy, structure and clear advice from the very first conversation. Our main borrower profiles are established pharmacists and pharmacy owners seeking finance from $100,000 upwards for their company, so a first commercial loan is well within our wheelhouse. Smaller sole-trader and consumer-style ABN lending sits outside our field.