Change of ownership, Larkhill Pharmacy
Change of ownership letter template that promises continuity, then proves it
When a business changes hands the customer has one question, which is whether anything they rely on is about to break. This letter answers it in three numbered promises about records, staff and hours, hands the new owner a paragraph of her own, and gives a number to call.
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Section by section
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- Letterhead and addressee
- Larkhill Pharmacy masthead letterhead, 16 February 2027, to our customers.
- Subject
- Larkhill Pharmacy has a new owner from 1 March 2027.
- The change
- A retirement after 23 years, the business passing to a pharmacist who has dispensed there since 2021, sold as a going concern.
- What does not change
- Three numbered promises: prescriptions and records, the six staff, trading hours, deliveries and pack days.
- A word from the new owner
- A callout in Priya Sandhu's voice, with one named change, a private room from April.
- Who to ask
- Questions about medicines, accounts or packs to anyone in the shop or on 7100 6612, and thanks for 23 years.
- Sign off
- Geoffrey Larkhill, Pharmacist and outgoing owner, with no signature block.
How to adapt this document
For a business where the owner is not known to customers by name, cut the retirement framing and lead with the date and the list of what does not change, because a personal farewell from a stranger is filler. For a sale where the trading name also changes, add a row or a line giving the old name, the new name and the date the signage changes, and say which name will appear on invoices and receipts in the meantime. For a merger rather than a sale, replace the new owner paragraph with what the combined business adds, keep the continuity list exactly as it is, and name the one thing customers will notice first, such as a new phone number or a different entrance.
What makes this document work
Going concern is explained, not assumed
The opening sentence says the shop is sold as a going concern, then translates it: the plain way of saying the doors do not close for a day. Customers do not read commercial terms, they read whether they can collect a script on 2 March, and the sentence answers that.
Three promises, each with a number attached
Same system, same shop, same pharmacy approval. Every one of the six staff staying, including two with nineteen years between them. Trading hours 8 am to 7 pm weekdays and 9 am to 1 pm Saturday with the delivery run and pack days unchanged. Counts make a continuity promise checkable.
The new owner speaks in her own voice
The callout is written as Priya Sandhu, not about her, and it names one small change, a private room for vaccinations and medicine reviews from April. A single named change reassures more than a promise that nothing at all will ever be different.
Questions people ask
When should customers be told a business has been sold?
Once the sale is certain and before the handover date, with enough time for the news to reach people who visit occasionally. This letter is dated 16 February for a 1 March handover, about two weeks. Telling people after the fact reads as concealment, even when nothing was concealed.
Should the outgoing owner or the new owner sign it?
The outgoing owner, because the trust being transferred is theirs to hand over. This letter is signed by the retiring pharmacist and gives the new owner a quoted paragraph inside it. A letter signed only by a stranger asks customers to trust someone they have not been introduced to.
What has to be told besides customers?
Suppliers, the landlord, the insurer, the bank, employees under the relevant employment rules, and every register that holds the business details, including the business register and the company register if the entity changes. Any professional registration attached to the premises has its own notification path and timing.
Do customer records transfer automatically?
Not automatically. Where records are held depends on the sale agreement and on the privacy and professional rules for the industry, and health records carry extra duties. This letter says the records stay in the same system under the same approval, which is a statement of fact about that sale, not a general rule.
Should the sale price be mentioned?
No. It is not the customer's business, and naming it invites judgements about whether the new owner overpaid and will have to raise prices to cover it. Say what continues, name the handover date, give a contact for questions, and leave the commercial terms where they belong, between the parties and their advisers.
What if staff are not all staying?
Say so honestly and briefly rather than making a promise that breaks in a month. Name what is certain, say when the rest will be known, and never list a person as staying before they have agreed in writing. Customers forgive a change they were told about and remember one they discovered.
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