Pharmacists Buying a Pharmacy: Urgent Short Term Loans to Settle on Time
Settle the pharmacy purchase on time, and refinance once your PBS approval is in place
Experts in strategic, short-term finance
24hrsFast funding solutions
$250K-$10MLoan range
9.7% p.aInterest rates starting from
1-24 monthsShort term funding
ExcellentRated 5 out of 5 on Google
Rated 5 out of 5Jason V
Hands down, the best private lenders in the biz
Gino, Alec and Finn are exceptional at what they do. Top tier communication and transparent service.
Rated 5 out of 5Rhowell Dela Rosa
Every settlement has been smooth
Gino and the team at Secured Lending are our go-to when a deal needs to move fast or fall outside bank criteria.
Rated 5 out of 5Rory Mcgrath
Always my top choice for nearly all private lending scenarios
I run and operate a private lending brokerage and have worked with Mark and the team for years.
Rated 5 out of 5Luke Egan
Speed to market on lending advances second to none
The owner is also one of best commentators on LinkedIn calling out poor lending and recovery practices.
Rated 5 out of 5amal maharaj
True professionals in the non bank lending space
Straight forward application and assessment process with clear communication till loan settlement.
Rated 5 out of 5Sam Algeri
Excellent service, quick approvals and seamless settlements
The team at Secured Lending, particularly Gino and Finn, are fantastic to work with.
Rated 5 out of 5sebastian wright
Speed, reliability, transparency
Exceptional team. Exceptional Service. Loved working with the team at Secured Lending.
Rated 5 out of 5Jordan Thomas
Gino & Finn are the best in the business
Quick and painless to deal with, keep up the great work SL team!
Rated 5 out of 5Wayne McCarthy
Always willing to think outside the box to get deals done
We've had a great experience working with Secured Lending.
Rated 5 out of 5JP G
Quick, responsive and reasonable
With all the shady characters in the private lending market, its refreshing to find good people to deal with.
Rated 5 out of 5Joel Togo
Always thorough on assessment and will give you a prompt answer
With clients that are in time sensitive situations, this is crucial.
Rated 5 out of 5David Pruscino
Always professional and supportive
It's a pleasure dealing with the Secured team.
Rated 5 out of 5Monica Monsigneur
A professional and common sense lender who delivers
Rated 5 out of 5Thomas de Fegely
Great options in the private space
Have been dealing with Finn from Secured Lending, he has been very responsive.
Rated 5 out of 5Andrew Soo
A very reliable funding partner
Highly recommended.
Rated 5 out of 5Phil Boyle
Very efficient, responsive
Finn was a great help to assist in a very timely manner.
Rated 5 out of 5Jason V
Hands down, the best private lenders in the biz
Gino, Alec and Finn are exceptional at what they do. Top tier communication and transparent service.
Rated 5 out of 5Rhowell Dela Rosa
Every settlement has been smooth
Gino and the team at Secured Lending are our go-to when a deal needs to move fast or fall outside bank criteria.
Rated 5 out of 5Rory Mcgrath
Always my top choice for nearly all private lending scenarios
I run and operate a private lending brokerage and have worked with Mark and the team for years.
Rated 5 out of 5Luke Egan
Speed to market on lending advances second to none
The owner is also one of best commentators on LinkedIn calling out poor lending and recovery practices.
Rated 5 out of 5amal maharaj
True professionals in the non bank lending space
Straight forward application and assessment process with clear communication till loan settlement.
Rated 5 out of 5Sam Algeri
Excellent service, quick approvals and seamless settlements
The team at Secured Lending, particularly Gino and Finn, are fantastic to work with.
Rated 5 out of 5sebastian wright
Speed, reliability, transparency
Exceptional team. Exceptional Service. Loved working with the team at Secured Lending.
Rated 5 out of 5Jordan Thomas
Gino & Finn are the best in the business
Quick and painless to deal with, keep up the great work SL team!
Rated 5 out of 5Wayne McCarthy
Always willing to think outside the box to get deals done
We've had a great experience working with Secured Lending.
Rated 5 out of 5JP G
Quick, responsive and reasonable
With all the shady characters in the private lending market, its refreshing to find good people to deal with.
Rated 5 out of 5Joel Togo
Always thorough on assessment and will give you a prompt answer
With clients that are in time sensitive situations, this is crucial.
Rated 5 out of 5David Pruscino
Always professional and supportive
It's a pleasure dealing with the Secured team.
Rated 5 out of 5Monica Monsigneur
A professional and common sense lender who delivers
Rated 5 out of 5Thomas de Fegely
Great options in the private space
Have been dealing with Finn from Secured Lending, he has been very responsive.
Rated 5 out of 5Andrew Soo
A very reliable funding partner
Highly recommended.
Rated 5 out of 5Phil Boyle
Very efficient, responsive
Finn was a great help to assist in a very timely manner.
A pharmacy sale needs steps a business sale usually does not: the ownership rules, PBS approval for the new owner, and often the bank's pharmacy team. When settlement is due before your bank is ready, terms can come back within hours and settlement within 24 hours of signing.
We lend to pharmacists, and to companies whose directors and shareholders are registered pharmacists where the state allows it, buying pharmacies and the premises they trade from. State laws restrict who may own a pharmacy, so we cannot fund a purchase by anyone who is not permitted to own one.
Pharmacy ownership rules
•In NSW, you must be a registered pharmacist to hold a financial interest in a pharmacy, with limited exceptions, and a pharmacist cannot have an interest in more than 5 pharmacies in NSW
•In Victoria, only registered pharmacists, or companies whose directors and shareholders are all registered pharmacists, may own a pharmacy business, with limited exceptions
•In Victoria, the law makes void any term in a loan or security agreement that gives someone other than the licensee control of the pharmacy business or a share of its profits
Our loan documents contain no term giving us control of the pharmacy or a share of its profits. We lend at an agreed rate, and your lawyer can confirm how the rules in your state apply to your purchase.
PBS approval and settlement timing
A pharmacist taking over an existing approved pharmacy must apply for approval to supply PBS medicines. The Department of Health says it may take up to 30 business days to process a change of ownership, and asks for the application at least 30 days before settlement. A relocation goes to the Australian Community Pharmacy Authority, which assesses it against the Pharmacy Location Rules.
When pharmacists call us
•The sale contract has a settlement date the bank's pharmacy team cannot meet
•You are buying out a partner pharmacist
•The landlord is selling the building your pharmacy trades from
•A relocation needs new premises, and a fit-out paid as a lump sum at settlement
•Your existing pharmacy has an ATO debt to clear before you buy another
Settling a pharmacy purchase
1
Contract in hand. Send the sale contract, the settlement date and details of the property you can offer. We come back with terms within hours.
2
Valuation. We value the property that secures the loan, whether that is the pharmacy premises or another property you own.
3
Settlement planning. Your solicitor lines up settlement with the PBS approval, and you sign the letter of offer.
4
Settlement. The loan can settle within 24 hours of signing, on the date your solicitor sets.
Paperwork for a pharmacy purchase
•The sale contract
•Evidence of your registration as a pharmacist
•Your PBS approval application, or its status
•The lease or contract for the premises
•The property you can offer
Which loans suit a pharmacy purchase
•First mortgage: over the pharmacy premises or another property you own
•Bridging loans: for relocation premises, where you own the current premises and will sell them
•Caveat loans: for a short period before a bank settles
Rates, terms and security for pharmacists
Loan feature
Detail
Loan size
From $250,000, with larger loans assessed case by case
Interest rate
From 9.7% p.a. (first mortgage), from 11.95% p.a. (second mortgage)
Term
1 to 24 months, interest only
Maximum LVR
70% of the property value, or of the lower of value and price on a purchase
Security
A first or second mortgage over real property. Never the pharmacy, its PBS approval or its goodwill
Settlement
From 24 hours
Refinancing after approval
Pharmacists usually repay us with bank finance once the purchase has settled and the PBS approval has been issued to them. Others sell another property. We set the term to cover the PBS approval and the bank's assessment.
“Pharmacy purchases depend on approvals that sit outside the sale contract, and the bank often waits for them. We lend to pharmacists with no say in how the pharmacy is run, so the buyer can settle and move to bank finance once the approvals are through. Send us the contract and the PBS timetable, and we will tell you the same day what we can do.”
We can fund both, where the numbers work. The loan is secured by the shop, up to 70% of its value, and a second property, such as your home, can be added to cover the business price as well. Your company is the borrower.
The two purchases are two contracts, one with the receiver for the shop and one with the pharmacist for the business, and they need settlement dates that work together. Ask your solicitor to line up both dates, then send us both contracts.
A second mortgage over your home covers about $560,000 of the $600,000. Our limit is 70% across both mortgages: 70% of $1.3 million is $910,000, and taking away the $350,000 owing leaves $560,000, which is $40,000 short.
The $40,000 can come from savings, or from another property you own added as additional security within the same limit. The second mortgage is priced from 11.95% p.a. Check your home loan agreement and ask your solicitor what it says about a second mortgage.
A short term loan can settle on the new date while your bank renews its approval. The loan is secured by a property you own, not by the pharmacy or its approval, so a revised settlement date does not change our assessment.
Tell us the new date as soon as it is agreed, and ask your bank how long a fresh approval takes, so our loan can be repaid when the bank is ready.
No. Our loan is secured by a property you own, such as your home or an investment property, so the shopping centre lease is not part of our security.
The lease still matters to your timetable, because the sale, your approval to supply Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines from those premises and your bank's refinance can all depend on it. Send us the lease terms on offer and the date the centre manager expects to sign.
It can affect it. In New South Wales a pharmacist cannot hold an interest in more than 5 pharmacies, and the purchase has to meet those ownership rules.
A fifth interest is within that number, but your lawyer should confirm how the rules count interests held with a partner before you sign. Send us that confirmation with your enquiry.
No, an ATO debt on its own is not a reason we decline. One loan can clear the debt and fund the purchase, as long as the total fits within 70% of the property securing it.
The loan funds are paid to your business, which pays the ATO in full and settles the purchase. Your accountant can confirm the payout figure with the ATO before settlement.
You can, if our terms and the valuation are done before auction day. An auction contract is usually unconditional, and we lend up to 70% of the lower of the value and the price you pay.
Send us the contract and the vendor's settlement terms now, and set your bidding limit around the loan and the cash you hold.
Borrow against an estimate with room for the stocktake. Give us the vendor's recent stock figure and the likely range, so the loan amount can be set to cover the higher end, and keep your own funds ready for any difference.
The stock is what the money buys. The loan is secured by property, never by the stock.
Your apartment supports about $630,000 of the $650,000. That is 70% of $900,000, so the other $20,000 and the purchase costs have to come from savings.
Your lawyer should confirm that the buy-in meets the pharmacy ownership rules in your state before you sign, and we will want to see that advice with your enquiry.
Yes. Vendor finance reduces the amount you borrow from us, but it does not repay our loan, so the plan to repay us still needs to be a refinance or a property sale.
If the vendor wants a mortgage over a property for their part, tell us early, because every mortgage over that property counts towards our 70% limit.
Yes. A bridging loan secured by your home can fund the purchase, up to 70% of the home's value, and it is repaid when the sale of your current pharmacy settles.
Send us both contracts so we can set the term past your sale date, and have your lawyer confirm the ownership rules for holding both pharmacies during those five weeks.
No. State laws restrict pharmacy ownership to registered pharmacists and, where the state allows it, companies whose directors and shareholders are registered pharmacists, with limited exceptions. We only fund purchases by people and companies who are permitted to own the pharmacy.
No. We lend at an agreed rate and have no role in running the pharmacy. In Victoria, a loan term that gave someone other than the licensee control or a share of profits would be void, and our loans contain no such terms.
The Department of Health says it may take up to 30 business days to process a change of ownership, and asks for the application at least 30 days before settlement. Lodge early, and we can have the loan documents signed before the approval is issued.
Yes. A relocation is assessed by the Australian Community Pharmacy Authority against the Pharmacy Location Rules, which adds a step to your timeline. We can fund the new premises, and the fit-out as a lump sum at settlement, and a bridging loan can cover the period before the old premises sell.
The pharmacy premises, if you are buying them, or another property you own, such as your home or an investment property. The pharmacy business, its PBS approval and its goodwill are never the security.
Yes. The buyout amount can be funded for the completion date you have agreed. Your lawyer should confirm the ownership rules in your state, particularly if the change affects the number of pharmacies you hold an interest in.
Funding can be ready on the same day, depending on your scenario. The PBS application should be lodged at least 30 days before settlement, so our terms can be agreed well before then.
Yes. A pharmacy carries a lot of stock, and cash can run short after a purchase or a refit. We lend for working capital to pharmacies and other retail businesses.
