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Popular Glasgow pharmacy sold for the first time in 35 years

The pharmacy dispenses 8,000 NHS items per month, Elizabeth Mclaughlin has owned the pharmacy since 1987

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, on Tuesday (7 November) announced the sale of Macbon Chemist for the first time in 35 years.


The popular community pharmacy, which is located in the heart of the Tollcross area in the east end of Glasgow, dispenses 8,000 National Health System (NHS) items per month.

Elizabeth McLaughlin owned the pharmacy since 1987, recently decided to retire and sold the pharmacy for an undisclosed sum.

She had been running it along with a team of employed and locum pharmacists.

The pharmacy was bought by Ron Badger who owns and runs another pharmacy in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow.

The deal was closed following a “confidential sales process” with Karl Clezy, the Director of pharmacy at Christie & Co.

Karl said that when Chemist was brought to the market "LloydsPharmacy had also placed its entire Scottish estate of around 200 branches on sale."

“Despite the market being flooded with opportunities, we managed to generate several notes of interest from existing contractors and first-time buyers alike which shows that there remains an appetite for well-performing independently owned pharmacies that have the potential to grow,” he added.

The funding was sourced through Craig Dickson at Christie Finance, as revealed by the property adviser. However, it didn’t disclose the price.

Though it is a well-performing community pharmacy, Mclaughlin decided to sell it to pursue a well-earned retirement.

Mclaughlin asserted that she and her team have worked hard over the years “to make the pharmacy friendly and welcoming” to the local community.

“It was with great sadness that I decided that the time had come to sell the business but feel reassured that it has been left in good hands with Ron,” she added.

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