A pair of friends have bought their first pharmacy after the previous owner brought the property to market so he could retire.

Manns Pharmacy, a standard-hours pharmacy situated in Mapperley, a suburb of Nottingham, dispenses an average of 5,000 items each month.

It has been bought by first-time buyer friends Mitan Maisuria and Rahul Patel, who plan to work in the pharmacy and “increase its service offering,” broker Christie & Co said. Previous owner Gurinder Singh Mann owned the business for over 20 years.

Christie & Co’s Carl Steer commented: “The sale proved popular, with eight offers from five parties. I have no doubt the pharmacy will benefit from being operated hands-on by Mitan and Rahul, and I wish them all the best with their first pharmacy business.”

David Ward, senior director at Christie Finance, said: “I am delighted to have arranged the funding for Mitan and Rahul for the purchase of Manns Pharmacy in what is currently a tougher lending market than this time last year. I am sure that they will take the pharmacy business to new levels.”