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.

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.