Preparing To Sell Your Vet Practice

If you’re thinking of selling your veterinary practice in the not-too-distant future, it pays to begin planning sooner rather than later.

Everyone’s situation is different, and so is every practice. This means you should always seek independent advice from your trusted advisers as you prepare your vet practice for sale. They can provide you with tailored advice that considers your needs and circumstances. 

While everyone’s situation is different, there are some general things to consider. We explore several of these in more detail below.  

Why sell?

Whether you are selling due to retirement, relocation or a career change, it’s important to take your time with the sales process as it will not just affect you, but also your staff and patients.

How can you increase your practice’s sale price?

It may seem obvious, but a vet practice that offers more value for the buyer will fetch more money when it’s sold. Have you thought about how you can add measurable value to your vet practice before you sell.

Boost Your Revenue

Consistent revenue (or, even better, long-term growth) looks great on a balance sheet and will increase your veterinary practice’s value. Your accountant may be able to help you identify ways to increase your practice’s revenue from a plain numbers perspective.  However, a business coach or practice management consultant may be able to help you find ways to attract new pet owners to your practice or boost visits and revenue from existing clients.

Your Practice’s “Physical” Value

A tried and true way to increase your veterinary practice’s value is to invest in the premises itself. A tired or outdated practice will be valued well below a modern, refurbished one. As such, it may be worth updating your practice before you go to market.

This needs to be a strategic move and for the best outcome, consider planning this a few years before you plan to sell.  This way you can enjoy the benefits it brings and may even be a way to attract more pet owners to your vet practice and boost your revenue.

Of course, sometimes things happen and it could be an immediate or forced sale.  As this may be a large asset on the balance sheet, it pays to be prepared, sooner rather than later.

Understand Your Lease

A very important step in preparing your practice for sale is understanding the finer details of your lease. Identify how easy it is to transfer your practice’s lease to a new owner if you do plan to sell. This is an area where it pays to plan ahead, so speak to your legal advisors so you know how your lease may affect the sale of your practice.

Succession Plan

Many veterinary practices are sold to a vet from outside the business, but it’s worth considering approaching the vets within the business. Check if you have a vet or vets working in your practice who may be interested in buying the practice.  You may want to investigate whether a formal succession plan that transfers the business to someone you know is the best approach for you.

Contact Elite Fitout Today

If you’re thinking of refurbishing your vet practice before going to market, we can help.   Contact Elite today on 1 300 765 344 or visit the Elite Fitout project gallery to see some of our past projects.