Business bites – brokering the right deal
This article was first published in Dentistry on 24 May 2018.
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When looking to sell your practice, it’s important to have a broker that understands your needs and aims, Simon Hughes says,
The importance of instructing a professional broker
Every dental business is unique, and so when looking to sell, it is important to have a broker on board who understands your bespoke needs and aims, particularly if they differ to the norm. One such recent instruction that required a personalised approach was when we brokered the merger of Oradi Dental, a specialist dental brand in Northamptonshire, comprising three practices in Wellingborough and Northampton.
Owned and operated for over 18 years by Dr Resh Diu, the practices are highly successful with 15 surgeries and a team of 18 clinicians and 60 nurses. Income from the practices comprises roughly a 50/50 split between NHS and private patients, with Dr Dui leading the private element of the business with passion and dedication.
Over the years, Dr Diu had received direct approaches from a number of prospective buyers, but when the time came to sell, he consulted Christie & Co – and our brief was slightly different to the normal practice sale.
A different type of sale
Whilst the commercial terms of the transaction were obviously key, of equal importance was the choice of partner, as Dr Diu wished to remain with the business, preferably in a non-clinical capacity.
A regular sale to a corporate with him retained as an associate was therefore not the preferred option and we were instructed to source a suitable company with whom the Oradi practices could be merged.
Our experience and network was crucial to the transaction
Our initial long list of potential partners included multiple practice owners and a number of financial buyers, as the business is big enough to support a management team. Working with Dr Diu, we then condensed this list to a shortlist of eight parties who were invited to formally view the practices and submit proposals.
Welcome to the family
A number of offers were received and we helped to conduct the detailed discussions, which ultimately led to narrowing down to the most suitable party for Oradi Dental. The party chosen was the Dental Care Group, an expanding group led by Dr Sanjay Shah, with practices across Essex and East Anglia. Very astutely, DCG identified Dr Diu’s ability to develop private dental income and have now appointed him as Business Development Director across the enlarged group.
We were delighted to have brokered such a successful outcome, which retained the best interests of the vendor, staff and patients, but also delivered a satisfactory result for all involved. The key was not only to ensure that Dr Diu’s commercial terms were optimised, but also to recognise that the choice of merger partner was equally important.
The article can be viewed on Dentistry.co.uk here.