Technology in Pharmacy Business with Scott Carpenter

Funding the Right Pharmacy at the Right Price for the Right Person

December 1, 2022

Play episode

In this episode of the Pharmacy View Podcast, host Scott Carpenter, EVBC is joined by co-host Kavita Nadan and guest Lisa Golden, Managing Director & CEO of Kizmet Capital. Please take a listen as the three of them talk about the changing world of careers in Pharmacy and Lisa’s drive to repower Pharmacy Finance.

Lisa has been in and around Pharmacies her whole life. Even though they have not had formal Pharmacy training, they have been passionate about Community Pharmacy their entire life.

Talking about the rebranding of Allfin to Kizmet Capital, Lisa jokes with the team about how everything has been changed except their mobile phone numbers—from email addresses to processes to systems. They add how Kizmet Capital has rebranded to become a more holistic suite of ownership and finance solutions for Community Pharmacy. They have reset, recapitalized, restructured, recruited, realigned and even relocated. Their goal, as they succinctly put forth, is to ‘repower Pharmacy finance’.

In regards to financing Community Pharmacies under the ownership model, Lisa emphasizes how pretty much anyone can access the financing:

Lisa believes that Pharmacy ownership in Australia is in a bit of a stalemate in Australia with the ownership and swirl of assets revolving around a small group of Pharmacists. And talking in abstract terms is not helping. They highlight the need for a tangible solution. They add that their financing model rests on independent oversight and hence avoids the conflict of interest.

There is a lack of interest from graduates wanting to stay in the Pharmaceutical industry. And this has happened because the incentives, opportunities, and risks have not been addressed properly. As Pharmacy ownership has evolved over the years, Lisa says that existing Pharmacy owners need to listen to the young generation and their need for fluidity in how they work and live their lives to make the Pharmacy attractive to a potential buyer.

The game has changed over the years, from how the locums function to part-time and full-time work at Pharmacies. Pharmacy owners need to change how they practice if they want to get more financing in the business.

Pharmacy View Podcast · #EP62 PView Ep Lisa Golden Kizmet Capital 241122

Topics Covered

Rebranding Allfin to Kizmet Capital
The ownership model for Pharmacies
A finance solution for everybody in Pharmacy
The evolution of Pharmacy financing
The changing definitions of Pharmacy Ownership
Need to listen to young Pharmacists

Key Quotes (Time Stamps)

“I joke with Mark and the team. You know, we’ve changed everything, but their mobile phone numbers, to date. So, email addresses, processes, systems; we’ve recruited, we’ve updated the operating model. And all in the name of, sort of, optimizing the opportunity. So, we’ve got quite a unique suite of products. And the Allfin business was reflected more working business whereas Kizmet Capital is a more holistic suite of ownership and finance solutions for Community Pharmacy.” (2:06 – 2:38)

“I guess the rebrand of Kizmet is really reflective of the evolution—not just of Pharmacy finance but of, you know, the product offer that we have. So, just thought it was a good opportunity to reset and focus on, I guess, repowering Pharmacy ownership. Not just empowering Pharmacy ownership but repowering it because I think we’ve come to a bit of a stalemate with Pharmacy ownership in Australia.” (4:01 – 4:24)

“It’s a finance solution, effectively. So, I guess the key Pharmacist or borrower that we have in mind is a first-time Pharmacy owner who…you know, all of the risks associated—the prices have gone up, risk of one-to-one Pharmacy ownership has gone up, LVR has gone down; so, the equity required to gain ownership is just getting harder. So, this is about providing them a loan where they can contribute 0% equity if they like to access the loan. But not necessarily just for first-time owners; we also work closely with Pharmacies looking to refinance to start to take a step back. The other thing we are very passionate about is succession planning in Pharmacy.” (4:41 – 5:11)

“The lack of interest from graduates wanting to stay in the industry. If we don’t address, you know, the incentives and the opportunities and the risks that these junior Pharmacists and potential owners face then… The concentration of ownership today, which exists, and the swirl of assets within the concentrated older demographic—the reality is they become less attractive to those buyers when you can’t get a working Pharmacist.” (15:21 – 15:52)

“Increasingly, there’s a fluidity to the way we that we live and the way that we work. And I think we have to have solutions and products which enable Pharmacists to apply that same fluidity to how they own and run a business.” (18:25 – 18:38)

“There would be nothing stopping two Pharmacists saying, let’s approach this together and take 50-50. There’s nothing to say you have to have a senior Pharmacist in the transaction. This is about providing young, passionate Pharmacists and aspiring owners and helping them into finance.” (21:01 – 21:22)

“What doesn’t change, regardless of the product, is, it is about funding the right Pharmacy at the right price for the right person.” (21:36 – 21:44)

“What we are finding, though, is now, in terms of locums and accessing locums, we are finding that a lot more Pharmacists are turning to lucuming rather than going into full-time, part-time positions. (25:55 – 26:06) – Kavita Nadan