By Brad MacLiver
There are a number of different options available for funding ND pharmacy franchises, specialty pharmacies, and traditional community drug stores.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
North Dakota Pharmacy Funding Types Available
There are a number of different options available for funding ND pharmacy franchises, specialty pharmacies, and traditional community drug stores.
SBA Financing for North Dakota Pharmacy Business Loans
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) partially guarantees loans for pharmacy franchise lenders reducing the risk exposure for the lender. A loan program called 7(a) is a standard for funding pharmacy franchises. These loans can provide funds for pharmacy franchise entry fees, real estate where the pharmacy will be located, property improvements, working capital, and pharmacy related equipment.
Borrowers for the North Dakota pharmacy franchise must be creditworthy, without any bankruptcies, have ample down payment, but there are variations here, and the business must be able to repay the loan from the cash flow of the pharmacy.
Terms can range from 5 to 20 years. Within SBA standards interest rates may be adjustable or fixed and will be negotiated by the lender dependent on the financial strength of the pharmacy transaction.
There are SBA fees for guaranteeing pharmacy business loans. These fees, which are paid to the government and not kept by the bank, can be rolled into the North Dakota pharmacy financing.
Patriot Express Business Loan Program
This is another SBA loan program that can be used for pharmacy franchise business loans and is reserved for military veterans, active service members, their spouses, and survivors. The Department of Veterans Affairs would be involved in the pharmacy loan process.
Pharmacy funding from the Patriot Express program can furnish relatively fast approval times, may accept a smaller down payment from the borrower than traditional business loans, and lower credit scores may also be accepted. Patriot Express business loans provide opportunities for lower interest rate North Dakota pharmacy business loans.
Funding for Pharmacists Who Are Veterans in ND
There are specific franchise loan programs available for honorably discharged veterans and these Vet programs can be considered for pharmacy franchise loans.
Pharmacy Financing From the Franchisor
Financing a pharmacy franchisee in North Dakota
Pharmacy franchisors may also provide some funding internally. Lower collateral will be offset by higher interest rates. This may help with qualifying for a pharmacy acquisition of a franchise, but may hurt the franchisee’s long term cash flow. Due diligence of pharmacy franchisor funding should be completed before any final decisions are made.
Personal Assets Used in Pharmacy Finance
Not all prospective pharmacy franchise owners have enough cash on hand. Part of the drug store business financing may require the borrower to liquidate personal stocks, provide personal assets as collateral, refinance their home, or use their 401k to assist the lenders security for making the North Dakota pharmacy business loan.
If the borrower still does not have enough personal assets then a family member or a friend may be required as a partner in the pharmacy. Since the pharmacy partner’s cash and assets will also be at risk of loss, these partners may require some controlling interest in the drug store.
Retirement Accounts Used in ND Pharmacy Finance
Retirement Plans can be self-directed and used to invest into a pharmacy franchise. The retirement plan can purchase stock in the North Dakota pharmacy franchise. This is similar to how the retirement plan currently may be investing in publicly traded stocks and mutual funds. Lower debt service and higher profit potential may result when incorporating this option that uses less external financing in funding the franchise.
There is, unfortunately, a downside. In the event that the ND pharmacy crashes, the retirement fund crashes as well, so this tactic of providing less expensive financing for the pharmacy should be weighed against risks of failure.
Because of the factors involved such as deferred taxes, early or improper distributions, and IRS involvement, funding a pharmacy transaction in ND with a retirement account should be handled by a company who has expertise in this arena. Pharmacists and investors interested in using this financing structure should research the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
ND Pharmacy Franchise Agreement Buyout Funding
Understand that pharmacy situations are changing, economic factors are a concern, mail order pharmacy is growing, and market shares are shifting. All of these can have a negative impact on the cash flow of a pharmacy franchise. Drug store owners paying franchise royalty payments may not survive the tightening profit ratios. Due to this, these pharmacy franchises may only have the options of bankruptcy, or buying out the franchise agreement when allowable.
Buying out the franchisor allows for the North Dakota pharmacy to take the franchisor out of the equation altogether. This will allow the pharmacy owner increased flexibility when making business decisions. The pharmacy franchisor has sold the drug store franchise with expectation that they will earn income from the cash flow of their pharmacy franchisees. Following their long-term plan, Franchisors may not wish to allow the North Dakota pharmacy franchisee to completely remove itself from the franchisor, but if a Franchise Agreement Buyout can be negotiated first, the buy-out transaction is also financeable.
Unfortunately many banks don’t understand the dynamics of the pharmacy industry. This lack of pharmacy knowledge results in the banks looking at the funding request and all they see is a business that has very little collateral compared to amount of financing the North Dakota pharmacy is requesting. To assist the successful funding process a pharmacy owner is advised to use a pharmacy industry specialist to capitalize on the funding opportunities that are available.
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