A new report has revealed the extent of increased financial pressure for Scottish dental practice owners resulting from rising costs, with the average practice seeing just 30p of profit for every pound they earn.
The National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL) Scotland annual Benchmarking Report has been released for the financial period 2024-25.
The report suggests that gross profit margins are under significant pressure – around 70p in the pound is being spent on costs.
However, private practices are seeing a large increase in net profit per principal dentist from £206,276 to £253,200. Associates also saw an increase to £93,098, up from £80,558 in 2023-24, representing a profit increase of around 43% in four years.
Mixed practices also saw a sizeable increase in net profit per principal from £199,471 to £217,624. On the other hand, the same figure in NHS practices dropped to £176,556 from £180,018 the previous year.
‘Costs are definitely on the rise’
Roy Hogg, specialist dental accountant and chair of NASDAL Scotland said: ‘Costs are definitely on the rise and laboratory costs have continued to grow in the latest results. This sees total expenses of all types at 68.1% in 2024-25. A percentage we will continue to monitor. It is good to see that profits are up for private and mixed practices although they did fall back slightly for NHS practices. However, in regard to private practices, this comes off the back of a big drop in average net profit per principal in 2023-24.
‘In regard to the NHS figures, fees for NHS practices have increased by only around £40k year on year, margins are being squeezed and this may explain the slight shortfall compared to 2023-24. This also reflects that NHS practices are paying 21.5% on associate fees, compared to 15.2% in private practices – potentially reflecting a more principal-led model in private practices.’
The annual Benchmarking Survey statistics are gathered from the accountant members of NASDAL across Scotland and the UK. The basis of the survey figures is 2025 tax returns and accounts with year ends up to 5 April 2025.
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