Success Stories

SUCCESS STORIES

Dental practice sales from the Owners’ perspective

Q&A with Dr. Melanie Gray

We spent some time with Dr Melanie Gray, dentist and former owner of Grays Dental Practice, to find out about her experiences with MediEstates, why she decided to sell and what it was like selling to Scotland’s largest dental group, Clyde Munro Dental Group, during lockdown.

SUCCESS STORIES WITH DR MELANIE GRAY

Dr Eric Gray

How did you come to sell the practice and how did MediEstates help?

We had a family-run practice for over 30 years so when my Dad (Eric Gray) and I discussed selling, it was a really big deal for us. We found out about MediEstates from a letter we received around the time we were having our discussions. Our first contact was Peter [Peter Cummings, Practice Valuation Manager]. He was really good. There was no pushiness; it was just a case of meeting for a chat and taking things from there. He came round to my parents’ house near to the practice because we wanted to keep things between us at first, so it was great that he could do that. He talked us through the process of getting a valuation, how it goes through the valuing panel and what happens from there.

When we decided we wanted to know what the practice was worth and how to move forward, Peter was really patient and helpful, particularly when it came to gathering the paperwork we needed. He took it all to the panel and things moved really quickly. We had our valuation figure within a week but there was no pressure to sign up with MediEstates or to sell immediately. We really appreciated that because it was such an important decision. In the end we took about three months to decide that selling was right for us.

Tell us about your experiences with the MediEstates team?

Peter put me through to Shannon (Shannon Loonam, Senior Transition Specialist) who was great at setting up practice visits in the evenings and weekends. She also told me about the people coming to see the practice. I was really quite nervous before the first showing, but Shannon reassured me that the viewers were lovely and not intimidating at all, and she was right. I think she knew I was anxious and decided to ease me into the whole process! She must have done a lot of work behind the scenes because I had a huge number of viewings, probably around 20 to 25 in the space of a month. Shannon would always contact me after viewings to chat about how it went.

She would also pass on any feedback from the potential buyer, which was really helpful. When I decided to go with Clyde Munro, I didn’t know a huge amount about bigger dental groups. Again, Shannon was reassuring and told us how MediEstates had worked with them before and had positive feedback from other clients.

How was your experience of selling to a bigger dental group?

I found it to be a positive experience and the people working for Clyde Munro made the whole process easier. Above all I felt more secure throughout the sale, especially at the height of the pandemic when everything felt so uncertain. After completion I knew I wanted to stay on, so we didn’t really discuss my walking away from the business immediately. Dad and I still work at the practice.

Did you come across any challenges during the process?

The biggest challenge was trying to complete the sale during the first lockdown. We were supposed to complete in February but of course the pandemic hit and there was a delay. COVID in practice was stressful enough, never mind the added stress of wondering if the sale would go through! However, as lockdown eased

we moved towards completion and by October everything was resolved. Shannon kept in touch and reassured me when I was concerned. She was great with us from start to finish and I was really pleased with how it all went.

Did you find there was a service from MediEstates that you valued above any other during the selling process?

I valued everything but I probably valued Shannon’s input the most. Even postcompletion she kept in touch and sent me some lovely flowers and chocolates, which I felt was a really nice touch. I was made to feel like a person throughout the process, rather than just part of a business transaction. It was great for me because I appreciate that connection with people and it made a huge difference to how I felt about selling my practice.

What made you decide to sell your practice?

I find it very difficult to switch off. My mind is always active. As a practice owner, you never really have that opportunity to relax and leave your work behind at the end of the day. I felt it wasn’t worth all the anxiety and extra stress, and I wanted to enjoy more time with my family without feeling exhausted. When you’re at Uni, you don’t learn how to run a business or how to manage a team of employees. I have a great team, but every team has its challenges and after 10 years I felt like I wasn’t enjoying it enough. I wanted to focus on being a dentist rather than having to focus on running a business.

And finally…would you recommend MediEstates to other potential vendors?

Yes absolutely, I had a really good experience with them. We had received multiple ‘cold’ letters from other brokers, but once we got the ball rolling with Peter, we weren’t interested in shopping around. We were happy with MediEstates’ service right from the start. So, I would definitely recommend MediEstates to people who are potentially selling.

Q&A with Darren McAuley

We spent some time with Darren McAuley, dentist and former owner of Sutton Dental Practice, to find out about his experiences with MediEstates, why he decided to sell and what it was like selling to Rodericks Dental.

Tell us a little bit about the practice

It was a mostly NHS practice that I bought six years after qualifying. I worked hard and saved every penny I earned to get a deposit down; I’d always wanted to own a practice.

The practice had a large NHS contract and the previous owners were actually missing the target, but every year we had the practice we successfully hit it. When I took over, they were doing a nominal amount in private dentistry whereas by the time I finished we increased this by 600%.

I took a business approach. It was a six-surgery practice that wasn’t always fully occupied so I got an implant specialist in, a few iTero scanners, a quicker computer system to speed things up a bit, and we installed air conditioning to create a better working environment. I was doing at most two days of dentistry a week and really focused on managing the business. By the end all six surgeries were filled five days a week and we were doing some private work on Saturday and Sunday mornings, too.

What made you decide to sell your practice?

I found being a Principal dentist on my own quite stressful and I realised quite quickly, that part time staff are good, because they have more energy, but I ended up with 25 staff this way.

I had decided not to do much dentistry because I felt that the practice would do better with me managing the business. Many people thought I was crazy, that I should be doing more dentistry and recruit a practice manager to manage things, but I just figured no one would – or should – care about it as much as I did. It was not necessarily the right approach, but it worked.

I enjoyed building the practice, but I think Covid was probably what ultimately pushed me to put it on the market. It sounds terrible but it makes you think that it could all happen again.

I’ve also got three children aged four, five and nine, and managing the practice left me with little time to spend with them. So, the key drivers for me were finding a better work-life balance but also to explore new ventures outside of the dental practice. All this culminated to make me feel that it was the right time to sell.

Why did you appoint MediEstates?

I have always been on the MediEstates mailing list and I have always received emails from them, so when I made the decision to sell, they were the most prominent in my mind.

How was your experience with the MediEstates team?

Great. The MediEstates team came in after hours to evaluate the practice and obviously, confidentiality and discretion were key. I had been thinking about selling for a while, and I knew roughly how much the practice was worth, so when I got the valuation the process was very quick and I was happy that it matched what I felt it was worth.

The MediEstates team were excellent. I found that they really listened. For example, when I requested the sale be kept confidential, they reassured me about the confidentiality right from the initial phases. There was always someone available on the phone to help when I needed it, the support was great. Sue, in the office, was always available on the phone,

there was always someone to speak to. I think they also have very good relationships with the corporates so that really helped as well.

How was your experience of selling to a corporate buyer?

MediEstates had advised me that from the start the practice would be too expensive for most individuals, but within a week they had three corporates who were interested. They came in the evenings to look at it and I received offers from all three corporates who viewed it.

The Rodericks Dental ethos appealed to me because they are clinically led, everyone I dealt with was an ex-dentist, ex-practice manager, or ex-dental nurse, so that really influenced me as well. They have the patient’s best interest at heart. I believe that if you look after your patients and your staff properly then dentistry will be a profitable business and Rodericks Dental had the same sort of outlook on that as me, which, as well as meeting the valuation figure, resonated with me to sell to them.

Selling to Rodericks Dental made the process quick too, they took a corporate approach to the due diligence, which can be a timeconsuming aspect. I think that’s something that people must be prepared for. Both MediEstates and Rodericks were very efficient throughout the sale.

How do you feel now you’ve sold your practice?

It’s been pretty good. The terms of the sale meant that I was tied in to work in the practice for a year and I enjoy working for Rodericks Dental, they’ve been very good. Now I do one full day and two half days a week in the practice, giving me the work-life balance I wanted.

I did enjoy owning the practice, we had a great team, a good patient base, and a lovely practice; hence why I’m still there. It’s a good place to work and Rodericks Dental have followed on from that.

Did you come across any challenges during the process?

My sale process was so smooth. It was smoother than a couple of the house sales I have been involved in. Obviously, the process is longer, and the amount of information required was a lot more than a house sale, but I understood the process and was expecting it, so I found it smoother than the house sales I was involved in.

Would you recommend MediEstates to other potential vendors?

Absolutely, 100%. The main reason people are concerned when they consider selling is worries around confidentiality and MediEstates were spotless in that regard.

There was always someone available on the phone to help when I needed it, the support was great.

Q&A with Dr. Richard & Jenny Graye

After the sale of Graye’s Dental Practice, we caught up with Richard & Jenny Graye to find out about their experience with MediEstates, the events that led them to decide to sell, things to consider when you’re selling and what life is now like as an Associate.

How do you feel now you’ve sold your practice?

‘’Relieved is the biggest thing. Mainly because of the current economic climate. We’re really glad to no longer be responsible for the running of the practice’’

Covid has taken a lot out of people, not just in our industry. Having a practice that is 85% private and 15% NHS, at the beginning of Covid the initial worry with being so private was about how much support we would get; but the government came through. But there was a general feeling afterwards that the world had changed. We (dentists) had that bit of freedom with almost 10 weeks of enforced idlenessalthough I worked a little locally - so there was a feeling that there was a life outside of all of this. Being so involved for 30 years and approaching 60, it all coalesced into seeing if there was a market out there for our three-surgery practice. I’ve known the MediEstates Valuation Manager for a long time, and it was a case of let’s just dip our toe in the water and see if it sells and someone comes along.

Over the past 10 years, you had frequent valuations from MediEstates before you finally decided to sell? Tell us why.

“We chose MediEstates because we trusted them and the person who looked after us”

The initial thought process of having valuations carried out by our MediEstates Practice Valuation Manager over the years was that it was part of our long-term financial planning, and what we’ve laughingly described as ‘freedom day’! They would visit us out of hours and over the years they put in a lot of free work and gave us sage advice on how to build the practice, what financial and equipment commitments we should make, which saved us a lot of money. Having made the decision to sell, we had a couple of valuations, and we chose MediEstates because we trusted them and the person who looked after us. Their arguments as to why we should be valued at a certain price made sense and for us it was also working with a large, reputable company. After the valuation was done there was no need to do any face to face with any of the team at MediEstates. It was all done by email or phone call, which really helps to keep the process confidential and ensures your team don’t find out until you are ready to share the news.

How long did the whole process take and how many viewings did you get?

‘’We had six viewings before we accepted an offer, so we were done and dusted in about four weeks!’’

We had the first viewing after two weeks. After four weeks of going on the market and agreeing a price, the legal and due diligence began. The buyer (an associate of another practice) paid his deposit to MediEstates after six weeks which then formally committed him.

How did you find the whole process with MediEstates and how was the support you received?

‘’Excellent! I’ve said this before; I can’t fault MediEstates!’’

The Practice Transitions Team worked almost tirelessly and was very, very good at chasing things up and keeping us on board with what was happening - including from the buyer’s side. The Legal Team made things very straight forward too, informing us of when we needed to sign and send things back. We didn’t feel any stress through the sales process.

What challenges did you face during the process?

“The biggest challenges were always to do with timing.”

The CQC gives a certain timeframe for the new owner to become the registered person and, as we had heard this was taking longer than usual, we applied early with the anticipation that we were going to complete around December. However, our buyer’s lender insisted on a new lease being in place for the building and the solicitors dealing with this didn’t appreciate that there was a time constraint with the CQC; we were very, very close to losing that date. Eventually we got it across the line at the end of March, so we were about four months delayed. The downside of this, in addition to stress, was that it cost us a lot more in legal fees than initially anticipated.

Talk to us about the stresses of being a Principal Dentist and what made you decide to sell?

‘’It’s the degree of change that we’ve seen and all the extra things we need to do that’s not dentistry’’

Due to the degree of change we have seen during our career, it was just getting too much. The additional things we now need to do, such as CQC and compliance, was taking away any pleasure from the dentistry side of it all.

While we had been lucky to retain our staff, we have seen friends and colleagues around Huddersfield struggling to fully staff their practices, which starts to cause concern. It all becomes a sort of drip, drip effect… all the things outside the clinical side of dentistry that we’ve endured and seen is very stressful.

What were your choices when selling the practice?

“It was important for us to have the option to leave or retire when we want to, rather than be tied in”

The new Principal wanted us to stay on and work in the practice. This isn’t always the case, although very often small corporates will tie you in for a period of time. It was important for us to have the option to leave or retire when we want to, rather than be tied in.

We have agreed on a three-month revolving contract, so either of us could give word of termination of contract. If the new Principal had wanted us to leave, then we would have carried out locum work or similar.

What advice would you give to other dentists?

“Young dentists need to seek better financial advice; I can’t stress this enough.”

What is it like working as an Associate at the practice now?

‘’We have maintained our side of the gross quite nicely, even with a day off a week.’’

Both my wife Jane and I have reduced our days to four. The new Principal is an implant dentist and has invested hundreds of thousands in new kit including Cerec. He has trained us all in how to use it, which is brilliant and I’m quite enjoying that.

As a result, we have maintained our side of the gross quite nicely, even with a day off a week. When you agree Heads of Terms you commit to working at the practice and maintaining the income for the practice during the sale. We have a big Denplan and private list and we have maintained that growth and we haven’t dipped even by dropping two clinical days. There was a slight fee increase and we’re working more efficiently.

Engage with financial planning services early on, including getting your practice valued. Long-term financial planning gives you a sort of freedom. We didn’t engage a financial advisor early or young enough, but we are lucky it has all worked out because he’s done a really good job for us.

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“ We didn’t feel any stress through the sales process