Nottingham sits at the heart of the East Midlands pharmacy market, with 85 registered community pharmacies serving a catchment area anchored to NG1. According to PharmSee's analysis of NHS England dispensing contractor data, the city has one of the lower GP-to-pharmacy ratios of any major English city — a finding with implications for both competition and patient access.
The numbers at a glance
| Metric | Nottingham NG1 (3-mile radius) |
|---|---|
| GP practices nearby | 67 |
| Registered pharmacies | 85 |
| GP-to-pharmacy ratio | 0.79:1 |
| Pharmacies with zero dispensing revenue | 19 (22.4%) |
| Active pharmacies (with revenue) | 66 |
| Total dispensing revenue | £6,107,789 |
| Revenue per active pharmacy | £92,542 |
The 0.79:1 GP-to-pharmacy ratio means Nottingham has more pharmacies than GP practices within its urban core — a pattern shared with Newcastle (0.79:1) and Leeds (0.89:1), and markedly different from cities such as Liverpool (1.42:1) or Plymouth (1.49:1) where GP practices substantially outnumber pharmacies.
What the dispensing data shows
Of the 85 pharmacies on the NHS register within three miles of NG1 1AA, 19 did not record any dispensing revenue in the most recent NHSBSA quarterly dataset. This 22.4% zero-revenue share is broadly consistent with other English cities PharmSee has profiled — Leeds shows 23.9%, Newcastle 25.9%, and Manchester approximately 16%.
It is important to note that NHSBSA dispensing data carries a reporting lag. A pharmacy with no recent dispensing record is not necessarily closed; it may reflect data-processing delays, temporary closures, or operational changes. The figure should be treated as a directional indicator of register quality, not a definitive measure of active branch count.
Among the 66 pharmacies with recorded dispensing activity, average revenue per branch was approximately £92,542. This places Nottingham in the middle of the English city range — above London's £66,788 per active branch, but below Liverpool's £116,291 and Newcastle's £141,431.
The job market
PharmSee tracks pharmacy vacancies across 11 public sources. As of mid-April 2026, there were 55 active pharmacy vacancies within 25 miles of Nottingham, distributed across seven employer sources.
| Employer source | Vacancies |
|---|---|
| NHS Jobs | 19 |
| Boots UK | 16 |
| Well Pharmacy | 13 |
| Asda | 4 |
| Tesco | 1 |
| Superdrug | 1 |
| Cohens Chemist | 1 |
The three largest sources — NHS, Boots UK, and Well Pharmacy — account for 87% of the 55 listed vacancies. NHS hospital and trust roles represent the largest single source (35%), which is consistent with Nottingham's position as a teaching hospital city with Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital both operating large pharmacy departments.
By role type, the 55 vacancies break down as: pharmacist (20), support staff including assistants and colleagues (9), pharmacy technician (6), dispensary roles (6), relief pharmacist (5), manager (3), Saturday pharmacist (3), and other specialist roles (3).
How Nottingham compares
| City (3-mile radius) | GP | Pharmacies | Ratio | Zero-rev % | Rev/active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | 64 | 43 | 1.49:1 | 18.6% | £119,334 |
| Liverpool | 150 | 106 | 1.42:1 | 17.9% | £116,291 |
| Manchester | 100 | 108 | 0.93:1 | 15.7% | £108,550 |
| Leeds | 78 | 88 | 0.89:1 | 23.9% | £99,210 |
| Nottingham | 67 | 85 | 0.79:1 | 22.4% | £92,542 |
| London EC1A | 262 | 292 | 0.90:1 | 11.3% | £66,788 |
Nottingham's position suggests a competitive market. With fewer GP practices generating prescriptions per pharmacy, each branch competes for a smaller share of dispensing volume. For pharmacy professionals weighing a move to the East Midlands, the data suggests a market where vacancy numbers are moderate and the major multiples — along with NHS trusts — dominate hiring.
Caveats
All pharmacy data is drawn from PharmSee's database of NHS England dispensing contractors and NHSBSA quarterly dispensing statistics. Revenue figures reflect NHS dispensing income only and do not include retail sales, private dispensing, or advanced services revenue beyond what appears in NHSBSA data. The 3-mile radius is measured as crow-flight distance from NG1 1AA. Vacancy data reflects listings from 11 tracked employer sources as of mid-April 2026 and does not include agency or locum listings.
Explore Nottingham's pharmacy data on PharmSee's pharmacy search tool, or compare vacancy listings across cities using the job search.
Sources: NHSBSA dispensing data (latest quarterly release), NHS England dispensing contractor register, PharmSee vacancy tracker (11 sources, updated daily)