Only pharmacy on the serene island of Alderney is up for sale through Christie & Co
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has brought to market Boardmans Pharmacy, the only pharmacy on the beautiful island of Alderney in the Channel Islands.
As well as dispensing patient prescriptions, the pharmacy sells a wide range of items, such as traditional perfumery products, health care products, toiletries, and a selection of gifts and pet products. As it is the sole pharmacy for the whole island, it benefits from a healthy footfall, dispensing an average of 4,750 items per month, and completing around 900 transactions per week.
Located on Alderney, the third largest of the Channel Islands, it lies just eight miles off the Normandy coast of France, and is the nearest island to the mainland of Britain. Alderney is around five kilometres long and three kilometres wide and has a population of circa 2,000 people, 25% of which are over 75 years old. Alderney provides a relaxed, safe and friendly environment for its residents, and has a great deal to offer, including a quiet, stable way of life amidst beautiful surroundings and a generally warmer climate than that of the UK.
Established over 100 years ago, Boardmans Pharmacy occupies a traditional retail building on Victoria Street in the island’s capital, St Anne, and is surrounded by a mix of businesses, such as restaurants, retail outlets, finance businesses and local independent shops. The pharmacy works closely with the Island’s doctor’s surgery and the dental surgery, both of which are within walking distance.
This sale offers a new buyer the outstanding opportunity for a unique lifestyle change, and to own a hands-on, community-centric, small-town pharmacy.
Boardmans Pharmacy has been owned and run by Mr Paul and Mrs Jane Durston for over 15 years and is now on the market to allow the couple to retire.
Mr Durston comments, “We moved from West Wales to Alderney in the early 2000s as our circumstances changed and we wanted to do something different. An advert popped up in the Pharmaceutical Journal and we took a took a trip to Alderney to explore the opportunity. We knew straight away that it was exactly what we wanted. It was perfect. I worked as a Manager for the business for 18 months prior to us purchasing the site in 2005.
“Since 2005, the business has changed a lot and we’re far more involved with primary care and frontline work than ever before. We moved here to make a contribution to the island, and I think we’ve done that. We make weekly and monthly visits to the cottage hospital and local care home and have more than enough clinical pharmacy work to keep us busy and interested.
“A real highlight for us has been seeing families grow and kids grow up and start their own families. It’s very rewarding, and you often don’t get the chance to see different generations coming through because people don’t stay in a place for that long, but they do in Alderney.”
Mrs Durston adds, “The island is such a special place to live. The beaches are beautiful, and there are so many great walks right on your doorstep. It doesn’t matter where you go, you’re almost always close to the sea. It’s such a safe way of life, too. There’s a really great community spirit here, you’ll always be looked after. If you’re looking for that element of change, and if you want to be part of a small community, this is your ideal opportunity.”
Jonathan Board, director at Christie & Co, who is handling the sale, comments, “The term ‘lifestyle opportunity’ does get used a bit when marketing and selling pharmacies outside of the main towns and cities across the UK, but this really does offer something different to most of them. Due to the low number of people who have owned this business over the last 100 years, this is potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Boardmans Pharmacy is on the market for an asking price of £950,000.