Following one of the biggest acquisitions in UK dentistry, Dentistry.co.uk speaks exclusively to a spokesperson from Oasis regarding its planned £835 million takeover by Bupa.
1. What made Oasis such a good fit for Bupa?
Bupa and Oasis have a shared commitment to putting customers first. Oasis has a fantastic reputation. It is 100% CQC compliant, 97% of customers say its quality of treatment was good and 98% would recommend their dental practice to others.
We want to bring together the best from both Oasis’ and Bupa’s dental expertise to create unbeatable dental services for our customers. The move is a significant milestone in Bupa’s strategy to offer customers high quality dental services. There’s strong customer demand for high-quality, value-for-money dental services that are convenient and easy to use. Bupa will become a major dental provider in the UK’s £7.1bn dental market going from 40 to over 400 dental practices, with over two million customers.
2. What position does this put Oasis/Bupa in with regards the UK market?
The combination of Oasis and Bupa’s dental practices would make Bupa one of the leading players in the UK dental market with more than 400 centres.
Oasis is also a key partner with the NHS and the number two NHS provider of dentistry, and Bupa is fully committed to high quality NHS provision going forward.
3. What will the purchase mean to the dentists who work for Oasis?
The acquisition of Oasis is about significantly expanding our dental services to benefit our customers and practices. We expect Oasis and Bupa dentists to benefit from a growing customer base as a result, and the growing strength of a national network will bring further enhancements to the training, support and clinical guidance they see today with Bupa and Oasis.
4. What will it mean for your patients?
The acquisition will strengthen our high street presence, the range of treatments and high quality clinicians and teams they have access to.
However, nothing will change for existing customers. The first priority of both Bupa and Oasis is to ensure our patients always receive the best possible care and service.
5. What’s the next step for the business?
For Oasis and Bupa, it’s very much business as usual, particularly the commitment to put customers first. Practically speaking, and as is usual, the acquisition is subject to the process of regulatory approval.