Navigating the Sale of a Dental Practice to an Established Corporate Group

Selling to a corporate group is, for some dentists, the perfect way to realise the full value of their practice and enjoy the retirement they have dreamed of. Unfortunately, these same corporate groups operate in a specialist market and have specific requirements when they’re looking to add to their portfolios. Without the right level of expertise around selling to said groups, you may find your practice fails to attract attention. 

Rangewell’s selling agents can help you redefine your practice’s value and make it more appealing to a corporate. We know the market and have relationships with many of these groups - so not only will we be able to help establish if your practice is something they’d consider, but we can also advise on the approach and process you’ll need to take in order to command the best possible asking price. 

Why was there a problem?

A dentist with a long-standing, successful practice approached our team when they recognised the difficulty in accessing the corporate market. Corporations typically require a high level of organisation and are selective in acquiring new property to expand their portfolio. In addition, a corporate will often have its own mergers and acquisitions team to find new buying opportunities, and if you, the seller, cannot get your property in front of that team you are likely to fail. 

In addition, the dentist in question did not understand the current financial landscape which is more relevant to large groups with higher exposure than it is to a manager of a single practice. Therefore, while you may think your opportunity is a valuable asset, the corporate group’s buying behaviours may have changed due to market influences you have yet to consider. 

Why we were able to help

By choosing us as their selling agent, the dentist in question was able to gain access to an ‘insider’ level of insight into the corporate buying process. Our agents know the mergers and acquisitions teams in corporate groups and know what they want. 

We helped the dentist understand firstly how viable an investment their practice was to corporate groups - as they have their own specific criteria for adding to their portfolios. We then worked with the dentist to add value to their practice in the selling process to make it a more appealing prospect. 

As we regularly interact with the buying team of corporate groups, we knew each group’s habits and interests regardless of market changes. Regular contact means our selling agent knows in any given week what sort of practices a buyer is looking for and can help direct them to your opportunity. 

Perhaps most crucially, our selling agent helped the dentist understand a full picture of what all corporates want - rather than tailoring to specific groups. This, in turn, helped the dentist understand what the best route for their sale was and what was expected of their practice in order to finish the sale. 

Understanding all of this meant that the dentist upgraded a specific surgery in the practice before the sale, which in turn made it more appealing to a corporate group operating 10+ practices, who our agent directed to the seller’s business and then finalised the sale. 

About dental practice finance

Corporate groups often have specific standards that they expect of your practice. If you cannot meet them, you may fail to secure interest. However, sometimes it may be worth securing dental finance to upgrade key parts of your practice to make the sale more appealing - especially if you’re only in the early stages of thinking about retirement and want to maximise the end-value of your property. 

Aside from corporate groups, selling to individuals, associates, and small groups is also possible. Many of these buyers will need dedicated dental practice finance that can provide the funds they need to buy your property. 

At Rangewell, we’re experts in the dental property finance market and understand the expectations of corporate groups as well as that of sellers - we can help ‘connect the dots’ and match your own goals for the sale of your practice to the reality of the buyer’s market. 

Sell your dental practice with Rangewell

Whether you’re trying to attract lucrative corporate sales or just sell to an associate, there are a series of challenges you need to navigate as a dentist selling a practice. Why go it alone when you can benefit from expert-led advice from our selling team? Get in touch today for a no-obligation chat to find out how your practice can appeal to the corporate market.