High dispensing County Durham pharmacy sold for first time in 22 years as owners retire

A County Durham pharmacy has been sold for the first time in 22 years.

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has announced the sale of Middleton Pharmacy in Darlington.

Middleton Pharmacy is a community pharmacy that dispenses an average of 10,874 items per month. It sits in the Darlington village of Middleton St George and benefits from a GP surgery close by.

READ MORE: Conductors training on Northumberland Line as service set to make 'massive difference' to locals

READ MORE: 'World's oldest railway' in County Durham launches scenic rides on Mince Pie Express this Christmas

The pharmacy has been owned by Middleton Healthcare Limited - a consortium of three GPs - for the last 22 years. It was brought to market to allow them to retire.

Following a confidential sales process with Karl Clezy at Christie & Co, it has been purchased by the independent contractor, Chemix Group, which owns another pharmacy in Halifax.

Patrick Holmes, former owner of Middleton Pharmacy, said: "We are very happy with the outcome of handing over the business to new owners and keeping the business local. We are confident they will provide excellent care and service to the local community going forward."

Prashanth Takkallapally and Harendra Patel, directors at Chemix Group, added: "We are delighted to acquire Middleton Pharmacy and thank Karl for his time and expertise.

"I am local to the area and when I saw the opportunity, I knew this was the right pharmacy to add to our expanding group. We look forward to growing the business and implementing our plans to improve healthcare in the village."

Karl Clezy, director at Christie & Co, said: "We received significant interest in this pharmacy and managed to attract three offers within the first two weeks on the market.

"The buyers could see that the pharmacy had a lot of potential to improve its trading performance. I wish the sellers well with their retirement, and all the best to the new owners at Chemix Group."

Middleton Pharmacy was sold for an undisclosed price.