Andy Acton takes a closer look at the dental practice market since COVID hit and looks forward to see what it will look like in 2021.
Last year was a year like no other and will stay in our memories forever.
Remarkably the dental sales market was broadly unaffected and goodwill values have held up well due to the increased demand for dental practices. Deals completed in Q3 and Q4 of 2020 with very few deals aborting due to the pandemic.
Driving force behind dental practice sales
For many, a life decision drives the decision to sell their dental practice. COVID didn’t materially impact on this decision.
An increased demand from buyers matched this. The lack of central government support for associates has spurred hundreds more dentists to register with us. The key driver is for associates to secure their long-term future through practice ownership.
The current demand for dental practices means that in excess of 97% of our practice valuations achieve the asking price or higher. Associates, in ever-increasing numbers, are looking to practice ownership to secure their long-term future.
It is also heartening to see the banks still actively supporting the dental profession. Funding is still readily available for acquiring dental practices and bank-appointed valuers are supporting goodwill values.
Dentistry has long been a green light sector for the banking profession. In the current economic climate it will continue to be so as healthcare is a lower quartile risk profile sector.
Changing behaviour
Changing behaviour, driven by COVID, also impacts on the demand for dental practices too.
Whilst there has always been a huge demand for practices in large cities, there has been a noticeable increase in demand for regional practices.
It is still early days, but this fits with the changing behaviour of the wider population. As well as purchasing habits changing as people buy more products and services locally.
As a company we are keeping very close to the changing trends in dentistry. And we can adapt to provide you with the best advice available so that you can make a decision on the way forward.
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