™
Working capital for
community pharmacy.
A pharmacy pays its wholesaler this week and waits on the NHS to reimburse what it dispensed weeks later — and a refit or a new dispensing robot lands as one big bill. Short-term finance bridges those gaps, and on every product the company borrows, never you personally. No personal guarantee.
Creditcorp is the growing name for the Credicorp group, and Credicorp Limited is the lender behind it. For an incorporated community pharmacy business, it does one thing: short-term working capital to keep the dispensary stocked and the cash flow around it moving.
Few high-street trades carry a timing gap as built-in as pharmacy. You settle the wholesaler for dispensing stock on their terms, dispense against scripts day after day, and the reimbursement for a whole month of dispensing arrives well after you have already paid for the boxes on the shelf. Add a stock shortage that forces a pricier buy, a refit the premises has needed for years, or a dispensing robot that would free up the team, and the demands on cash rarely line up neatly. This page looks at how a Business Bridging Loan, Credicorp Flex or Credicorp Slice tends to be used to bridge those gaps, so you can picture the fit before you apply.
Throughout, the borrower is the company — a UK private limited company (Ltd), LLP or PLC — not the director who signs. That means no personal guarantee, no charge over a home and no personal credit check on a director. These are not personal loans, payday loans or sole-trader finance. When you’re ready, applying happens on the lender’s own site, credicorp.co.uk.
Where the cash-flow gaps come from
It is rarely about whether the pharmacy is profitable. It is about the timing of money out and money in — and in dispensing, that timing is stacked against you.
Dispensing stock goes out before reimbursement comes back
You buy from the wholesaler to keep the dispensary full, often settling the account on short terms. Then you dispense against prescriptions all month, submit the bundle, and wait for the NHS to reimburse the cost of those medicines and the dispensing fees. By the time the payment lands, you have already paid for the next month’s stock. The faster the pharmacy is trading, the bigger that rolling outlay sitting ahead of reimbursement becomes.
The lag on NHS reimbursement
Reimbursement does not arrive the day you dispense — it follows a monthly cycle, well after the medicines left the shelf. For a busy community pharmacy that gap is a permanent feature of the cash flow, not a one-off. When a wholesaler bill, a quarterly cost and a quiet patch all coincide, the money owed but not yet received is exactly the squeeze short-term finance is built to bridge.
Stock shortages and price spikes
When a line goes short, you may have to source it at a higher cost to keep dispensing without a gap, tying up more cash than usual in stock you will be reimbursed for later. Holding a sensible buffer of fast-moving and cold-chain items has the same effect: more money on the shelves, waiting to be earned back.
A refit or new equipment
A tired branch needs a refresh eventually — a consultation room for services, new shelving and storage, a fridge for cold-chain stock, or a dispensing robot to free the team for patient-facing work. The payback is clear: a sharper, more efficient pharmacy. But the bill lands all at once, and you would rather not pull it straight from the working float in one go.
The kinds of funding that fit a pharmacy
Three plain-English shapes of short-term credit. The detail and the live terms sit with the lender — here is how each tends to be used behind the dispensary.
A Business Bridging Loan — a fixed sum for a known job
A single lump sum into the company account, repaid over a short, fixed term. It suits a one-off, time-boxed gap you can name: a consultation-room refit, a dispensing robot, a chiller for cold-chain stock, or a larger stock buy to cover a known shortage. You know the figure, and you can see the trading and the reimbursement that will clear it. More on the Bridging Loan →
Credicorp Flex — a line you draw on through the month
A revolving facility the company can dip into and repay as cash flow turns. For a pharmacy buying wholesaler stock in waves while waiting on each month’s reimbursement, it smooths the peaks without arranging a fresh loan every time. You pay only for what you draw on the drawn balance, not on the whole limit. More on Credicorp Flex →
Credicorp Slice — spread a single wholesaler bill
Got a chunky wholesaler or supplier invoice you would rather not settle in one hit? Slice pays it in full today and lets the company repay over a few weeks for a flat fee. The wholesaler account stays in good standing, the dispensary stays stocked, and the cost is fixed before you commit. More on Credicorp Slice →
Which one fits depends on your situation, and the published terms can change — always check the live product page before you apply. The tools can help you sketch a repayment, and the learn hub goes deeper on each option.
The company borrows — not you
In a trade where the pharmacist owner often is the business, this is the part worth slowing down on.
Plenty of pharmacy owners have already been asked, by a bank or a broker, to put their home on the line for a working-capital facility. A personal guarantee or a charge over the family house turns a business timing gap into a personal risk — and in a trade where a slow reimbursement month or a stock-price spike can swing the numbers, that is a heavy thing to sign.
- No personal guarantee — the company is the borrower, full stop.
- No charge over your home — your house isn’t security for dispensing stock.
- No personal credit check on a director — the lender looks at the business, not your own file.
- Bodies corporate only — UK Ltd, LLP or PLC, never a sole trader or an individual.
This is exempt business lending under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001, not consumer credit. The full regulatory position is set out on our lending and regulation page, and the company and trade-mark detail behind the group lives on creditcorpgroup.co.uk.
How it can play out — a worked example
A made-up, clearly illustrative business — not a real customer — just to show the shape of the timing problem.
Picture a single community pharmacy trading as a UK limited company on a busy parade. Dispensing volumes have crept up steadily, which is good news — but it means the wholesaler account is settled every week while the reimbursement for a whole month of dispensing lands well after the stock that earned it has been paid for. On top of that, the cramped back of the shop badly needs a consultation room and new storage if the pharmacy is to take on more services.
Because the refit is a one-off with a clear figure and a clear payback, a fixed-term Business Bridging Loan to the company fits the consultation room and the storage together: a known sum, repaid over the trading months that earn it back. The agreement is with the company, so the pharmacist gives no personal guarantee and puts no charge over their home. If a busy run of dispensing then stretches the wholesaler outlay ahead of the next reimbursement, a Credicorp Flex facility would let the company draw against its own trading position and pay down as the reimbursement arrives — without starting over.
Pharmacy funding — common questions
The questions pharmacy owners ask most. For anything beyond these, the lender’s team can help.
Can my pharmacy company borrow without a personal guarantee from the director?
Yes. Credicorp lends to the company — a UK limited company, LLP or PLC — not to the director who signs. There is no personal guarantee, no charge over a home and no personal credit check on a director. The agreement sits between Credicorp and your pharmacy business.
We pay wholesalers for dispensing stock before the NHS reimburses us. Can funding cover that gap?
That lag is one of the most common reasons pharmacy companies look at short-term finance. You settle the wholesaler now and the reimbursement for what you dispense lands a month or more later. A Business Bridging Loan or Credicorp Flex can cover the stock outlay so the shelves stay full, with repayment timed around the money coming back in. Specifics are set on the lender at credicorp.co.uk.
Can we fund a refit or new dispensing equipment?
Yes. A consultation room, new shelving and storage, a robotic dispenser, a fridge for cold-chain stock or a fresh till and PMR setup are all working-capital uses. Because the cost is known up front and the payback comes from trading once the work is done, a fixed-term Bridging Loan often fits a refit cleanly. The lender confirms what suits your case.
Does money owed to us by the NHS but not yet paid count against the company?
The reimbursement lag is a normal part of pharmacy cash flow — you dispense now and the payment for the month follows later. Credicorp looks at the company as a whole rather than securing against any single reimbursement, so money earned but not yet received does not have to stall the next stock order or a planned refit.
Is this a consumer loan, a payday loan or sole-trader finance?
None of those. This is business credit to a body corporate, not consumer credit, and it is not for sole traders or anyone borrowing in their own name. Under Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001, lending to a UK company sits outside the consumer-credit regime. The full position is set out at /lending-and-regulation/.
Where do I actually apply?
This site is the Creditcorp brand front door and does not take applications. Applying, drawing down and managing the account all happen on the operating lender, credicorp.co.uk. You can compare the products and start an application there.
More general answers live on the Creditcorp FAQ, and the learn hub walks through the whole journey from first look to funds in the bank.
Related sectors
Pharmacy shares its cash-flow shape with other clinical and counter-led trades.
- Healthcare — clinics and practices funding equipment and stock while payers settle on their own timetable.
- Dental — surgeries spreading the cost of a chair, a scanner or a refit against future treatment income.
- Retail & shops — the same counter-led, buy-stock-before-you-sell-it timing gap on the high street.
Or head back to the full industries overview to browse every sector. For company, trade-mark and legal detail, the group site is creditcorpgroup.co.uk.
Keep the dispensary stocked
Whatever the pharmacy needs funding for, applying, drawing down and managing your account all happen on the lender’s site, credicorp.co.uk.