Pharmacy Rents - Are you paying a fair price for what you are getting? What business are you in?

When you sell a property, outside of an auction, you often sign a Contract Note that contains the key terms and conditions of the sale as a pre-cursor to signing a formal Contract of Sale. The Contract Note is completed by the Real Estate Agent in order to "lock in" the transaction and ensure that once agreement is reached, settlement can commence while the full terms and conditions are addressed in the formal Contact of Sale. This is the same process as signing a Heads of Agreement (HOA) on the agreement to purchase a business, followed by a formal Contract of Sale before settlement.

When looking to sell your business, you will undoubtedly be faced with the issue of the agent's commission. All business brokers (and real estate agents) are required to advise that commission are negotiable and you have a right to discuss the commission structure with your agent. However, be aware of the process when doing this - you really do get what you pay for and often those offering lower commissions also provide less of a service. Your aim should be to set a walk-away price from the sale - what you receive after the agent's commission. And at the end of the day, when you put your business to market you want your broker to be pushing hard to get the best return for you - how they negotiate their commission will be a good example of their negotiation skills. If they're willing to cut their own commission to get the deal, how hard are they going to negotiate with buyers for your business?

Many shopping centre landlords see turnover as the key measure for setting pharmacy rents. While considered illegal and not in accordance with the relevant pharmacy legislation, many landlords have continued to seek turnover data from pharmacy (and other tenants) with a view to escalating rent when turnover increases.