The company, set up by Superintendent Pharmacist Murad Ali in 1995, now boasts four pharmaceutical businesses in Newport, Cwmbran and Caerphilly.

Recently, Murad realised that the Newport premises needed a facelift to re-energise the business.

By incorporating a premium beauty brand into the pharmacy, his customers would benefit from an exclusive, high-calibre health and beauty service.

Working with Chris Pascoe, senior healthcare relationship manager at NatWest’s Cardiff office, the company was able to secure £200,000 to facilitate a revamp of the pharmacy, and fitting-out of the Clarins beauty counter. This was part of the Government’s Funding for Lending scheme.

Director Murad Ali said: “Bringing the Clarins beauty brand into the pharmacy has transformed our business; we are now the only Clarins destination in Newport. Since the launch earlier this month, the response from our customers has been excellent. People have been double-booking appointments at our beauty counter – we’ve been booked out, which from our point of view is fantastic!”

Murad Ali said:“Chris’s support has been vital to our venture; he fully understood our business and what we wanted to achieve through the pharmacy. “

Chris said: “The Handpost Pharmacy has shown genuine passion and commitment as a player in the region’s pharmaceutical sector. To have a strong sense of where you want your business to be is admirable, and NatWest is delighted to have helped Murad reach that goal.”

Business growth is key to Murad’s vision for The Handpost Pharmacy. The Newport team has grown by an additional seven staff, two of which are fully trained Clarins beauty therapists. He is also looking to increase turnover by 20 per cent from £4min 2012.

NatWest is committed to helping small business customers achieve their ambitions and are training all bank managers to support this through our accredited Certificate in Credit programme.