A Lancashire pharmacy chain is offloading five of its 14 branches as part of a “strategic review of its portfolio,” broker Christie & Co has said. 

The Sykes Chemist Group is selling four pharmacies in Bolton and one in Accrington on an individual, group or sub-group basis.

For the most expensive of the five, Gatleys Pharmacy on Tonge Old Road in Bolton (pictured), the owners are accepting goodwill offers above £500,000. For the least expensive, Paradise Street Pharmacy in Accrington, offers above £150,000 are being accepted. Collectively, the five businesses have a minimum asking price of £1,845,000. 

The pharmacies dispense a combined monthly average of 33,000 items a month. Two are being run “under full management” while the other three are currently being managed by locums.

According to its most recent publicly available accounts, Sykes Chemist made a post-tax profit of £545,702 in the year to February 28 2022, a 55 per cent increase on the previous year.

Christie & Co agent Tom Young, who is handling the sale, commented: “We are delighted to have been engaged by the family of Sykes Chemist Group in this exciting disposal project of five north west pharmacies.

“Greater Manchester is a hotbed of buyer activity, especially for first and second-time buyers, so we expect a strong response from the market on this instruction.”

Interested buyers must submit their final offers before 12 noon on July 19.