Why this matters
Why exit planning needs to start early
Many UK dental practice owners go to market underprepared and can leave between £60,000 and £150,000 of potential value on the table.
Most owners start preparing for sale when they feel ready to leave. By then, many of the things that determine value are already difficult to change.
A strong exit is usually built 12 to 24 months before the practice goes to market. That gives you time to improve profitability, strengthen your financial record, resolve operational and legal risks, and prepare the business for buyer due diligence.
The goal of the Practice Exit Accelerator is to identify those issues early and fix them before they affect your valuation or become negotiating points during a future sale.
Why EBITDA matters
For many dental practice sales, sustainable EBITDA is one of the biggest drivers of valuation.
A practice valued at 4x to 7x EBITDA can see a significant change in value from even a relatively small improvement in earnings.
For example, improving sustainable EBITDA by £100,000 could potentially add £400,000 to £700,000 to the headline valuation, depending on the multiple a buyer is prepared to pay.
That is why the Practice Exit Accelerator focuses heavily on improving and normalising EBITDA well before the business goes to market.
Protect your practice value
Three things that can reduce your practice value
Dental practice buyers are sophisticated. The more prepared you are, the more of your true value you are likely to protect.
Buyers will find the weaknesses
Experienced dental buyers know what to look for. Weak financial reporting, unclear contracts, lease issues or inconsistent performance can all create uncertainty and give buyers reasons to reduce their offer.
Exit planning gives you time to identify and resolve those issues before your practice goes to market.
Small issues can become expensive problems
A short lease. An important associate without a signed contract. CQC issues. Unclear ownership of equipment or assets.
Individually they may seem minor, but during due diligence they can delay a sale, weaken buyer confidence or become reasons to negotiate the price down.
The earlier these issues are identified, the easier they usually are to fix.
Your recent financial performance matters most
Buyers will look closely at your recent profitability and whether your EBITDA is sustainable.
If performance has fallen in the years leading up to sale, it can be difficult to recover that lost value at the last minute. Starting early gives you time to improve the numbers and build a stronger financial track record.
What buyers see
What your practice looks like to a buyer – prepared vs unprepared
A buyer will look far beyond headline revenue. They will assess the quality of your earnings, contracts, lease, compliance and how much risk they are taking on.
Our Practice Exit Accelerator is designed to strengthen these areas before your practice goes to market.
| Factor | Without exit planning | With Samera Exit Accelerator |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA & financial reporting | Inconsistent figures, principal cost distortions, unexplained adjustments and limited management information | Clean, normalised EBITDA supported by clear management accounts, forecasts and a defensible earnings history |
| Associate contracts | Informal, outdated or unsigned arrangements that create uncertainty around future revenue | Key associate relationships formally documented, reviewed and ready for buyer due diligence |
| Lease, assets & equipment | Short lease terms, unresolved landlord issues or unclear ownership of key equipment and assets | Lease position reviewed, key risks addressed and ownership of important assets and equipment clearly documented |
| NHS contract | Transferability, clawback history or contractual issues unclear | NHS position reviewed and supporting information prepared before due diligence begins |
| Patient base & revenue mix | NHS/private mix, patient trends and recall performance poorly understood or evidenced | Clear visibility over NHS and private revenue, patient trends and the underlying quality of the revenue base |
| Due diligence & sale readiness | Documents gathered reactively, issues discovered late and more opportunities for delays or price reductions | Key information organised in advance, fewer surprises during due diligence and a stronger position when the practice goes to market |
Your route to exit
Choose the right support for your exit
Whether you are exploring your options, preparing your practice for sale or ready to go to market now, Samera can support you at each stage of your exit.
Considering an exit
Exit Readiness Audit
£1,500 one-off
Best for owners who want to understand how sale-ready their practice is before committing to a longer programme.
- 40-point Exit Readiness Audit
- EBITDA and financial review
- Indicative valuation range
- Key risks and value gaps identified
- Personalised action plan
- 90-minute debrief with Arun
Ready to sell
Sell your dental practice
2.5% on completion, capped at £50,000
For owners who are ready to take their practice to market now and want Samera to manage the sale through to completion.
- Dental practice valuation
- Sale preparation and positioning
- Confidential buyer matching
- Offer and negotiation support
- Due diligence coordination
- Deal support through to completion
Our process
The Samera Practice Exit Accelerator
A structured 18-month programme designed to improve the financial performance of your practice, remove risks and get the business fully prepared before it goes to market.
Stage 1 – Exit Readiness Audit
Timeframe: Months 1-2
Before we start making changes, we need to understand exactly where your practice stands today.
We conduct a 40-point Exit Readiness Audit across the financial, operational, legal and commercial areas a future buyer is likely to scrutinise. We review your accounts and your practice through the eyes of a buyer and their due diligence team, identifying both the strengths that support your value and the issues that could be used to reduce it.
Your EBITDA is analysed and normalised, key risks are identified and prioritised, and we establish an indicative valuation range based on the practice in its current condition.
The result is a clear picture of where you are today, where the biggest opportunities lie and what needs to happen over the following 18 months.
Key deliverables:
- 40-point Exit Readiness Report covering financial, legal, operational and commercial areas
- EBITDA analysis, including reported versus adjusted EBITDA
- Risk Register identifying issues that could affect value, ranked by impact and urgency
- Indicative valuation range
- Personalised 18-month action plan with prioritised improvements
Stage 2 – EBITDA Improvement Programme
Timeframe: Months 3-9
This is where much of the potential financial value is created.
Because dental practice valuations are heavily influenced by sustainable EBITDA, relatively small improvements in profitability can have a significant effect on eventual practice value.
We work systematically through your cost structure, income mix and operating model to identify sustainable improvements. This is not about aggressively cutting costs or making short-term changes simply to make the numbers look better. The objective is to create a stronger, more profitable practice with earnings that can withstand buyer scrutiny.
We also normalise the accounts so that the underlying profitability of the business is clearly evidenced. This can include separating personal or non-recurring expenditure, reviewing principal-related costs and ensuring legitimate adjustments are properly documented.
Income mix is reviewed alongside costs. Where appropriate, we look at private revenue growth, fees, utilisation and other opportunities that could strengthen profitability within your available exit timeframe.
Key deliverables:
- Monthly management accounts throughout the programme
- Adjusted EBITDA schedule with clearly evidenced normalisation adjustments
- Cost base review, including suppliers, staffing, laboratory and materials costs
- Income and revenue mix analysis
- Recommendations for sustainable profitability improvement
- Monthly EBITDA improvement tracker against agreed targets
Stage 3 – Operational and legal risk removal
Timeframe: Months 4-12
Strong EBITDA alone does not guarantee a strong exit.
Buyers will also assess the risks they are inheriting. Problems with leases, associate agreements, NHS contracts, compliance or ownership of key assets can create uncertainty during due diligence and ultimately affect the value they are prepared to pay.
This stage runs alongside the EBITDA improvement work.
We take each material risk identified during the Exit Readiness Audit and develop a plan to resolve it well before the practice goes to market. Importantly, we also make sure that the resolution is properly documented so that you can evidence it when a future buyer begins their review.
The aim is to remove avoidable questions and objections before they ever reach the negotiating table.
Key deliverables:
- Lease review, including remaining term, renewal requirements and landlord issues
- Associate and staff contract audit
- CQC and regulatory compliance review
- NHS contract and transferability review where applicable
- Equipment and asset ownership review
- Updated Risk Register showing progress against issues identified in Stage 1
Stage 4 – Financial and due diligence preparation
Timeframe: Months 12-15
By this stage, the major improvement work should be well underway and your practice should be financially stronger and operationally cleaner.
Now we turn that work into evidence.
A buyer will not simply accept that profitability has improved or that historic issues have been resolved. They and their advisers will want documentation that supports the story your numbers are telling.
We therefore begin assembling the financial, operational and contractual information that will ultimately be required during due diligence.
Your management accounts, historic financial information and adjusted EBITDA schedules are reviewed for consistency. Key documents are organised, gaps are identified and a structured data room is prepared before a buyer ever requests access.
This means you enter a future sale process prepared rather than spending weeks trying to find documents while questions are already arriving.
Key deliverables:
- Three-year financial information pack
- Buyer-ready management accounts
- Finalised adjusted and normalised EBITDA schedules
- Supporting evidence for material EBITDA adjustments
- Organised financial, operational, contractual and compliance documentation
- Due diligence checklist and gap analysis
- Structured data room ready for the future sale process
Stage 5 – Final exit readiness
Timeframe: Months 15-18
The final stage brings together everything completed during the programme and determines whether the practice is genuinely ready to go to market.
We repeat the key elements of the original Exit Readiness Audit, review the progress made against the initial Risk Register and assess whether the improvements in EBITDA and operational quality are properly evidenced.
We also update the indicative valuation based on the practice in its improved condition and review the tax implications of a future sale before commercial terms begin to take shape.
The objective is to enter the market knowing your numbers, understanding the strengths and remaining risks within the business and having the information a buyer will eventually require already prepared.
If you decide to proceed with a sale, the practice can then move into Samera’s separate dental practice sales service, where buyer marketing, offers, negotiations and transaction management begin.
Key deliverables:
- Final Exit Readiness Review
- Updated Risk Register and confirmation of outstanding actions
- Updated indicative valuation range
- Final EBITDA and profitability review
- Pre-sale tax planning and consideration of potential sale structures
- Final due diligence readiness check
- Completed data room and supporting documentation
- Clear handover into the dental practice sale process when you are ready
See if your practice is ready
Free 30-minute consultation with Arun to talk through where you stand and what the right next step is.
Why Samera
Why dental practice owners choose Samera for exit planning
Samera’s positioning in this market is unusual. No other adviser combines all four of the following elements – and every one of them changes the quality of advice you receive.
We already understand the numbers
Exit planning starts with the financials. We understand how dental practices make money, where EBITDA can be distorted and what buyers are likely to question.
Because Samera works with dental businesses every day, we can identify issues early and help you strengthen the financial story before your practice goes to market.
We are dental practice owners ourselves
Arun Mehra co-founded The Neem Tree Dental Group, so our advice is grounded in the realities of running a dental business, not just analysing one from a spreadsheet.
We understand the operational, staffing and commercial decisions that affect both profitability and long-term practice value.
We combine accountancy, tax and exit planning
Preparing for sale touches far more than valuation.
Our team can work across your management accounts, EBITDA, tax position, group structure and financial preparation within one coordinated exit plan.
That means the financial improvements you make during the programme are properly reflected and evidenced in your accounts.
We know what makes a practice sale-ready
After more than 25 years working with dental businesses, we know the issues that repeatedly create problems during due diligence.
The Practice Exit Accelerator is built around identifying those risks early, resolving them and making sure the evidence is ready before a buyer starts asking questions.
Common mistakes
Seven mistakes that cost dental practice owners money
In 25 years of specialist dental accountancy, these are the mistakes we see most consistently – and most expensively. Each one is avoidable with proper preparation.
01 – Starting too late
The biggest mistake is waiting until you are emotionally ready to sell before preparing the business.
By then, your recent EBITDA record is largely set, lease issues may take months to resolve and there may not be enough time to strengthen the areas a buyer will scrutinise.
Starting 18 to 24 months earlier gives you time to make meaningful changes and prove that those improvements are sustainable.
02 – Waiting until the practice goes to market
Exit preparation should happen before you appoint an agent or start speaking to buyers.
Once the practice is on the market, weaknesses become negotiating points rather than problems you still have time to fix.
The Practice Exit Accelerator is designed to get those issues resolved before the formal sale process begins.
03 – Allowing personal and one-off costs to distort EBITDA
Personal expenditure, exceptional costs and principal-related expenses can make the underlying profitability of the practice difficult to see.
At an illustrative 5x EBITDA multiple, every £10,000 of sustainable EBITDA can represent £50,000 of practice value.
The key is not simply removing costs. It is identifying legitimate adjustments, documenting them properly and building a clear, defensible picture of sustainable earnings.
04 – Leaving lease issues until the sale
A short lease, unresolved rent review or landlord issue can create uncertainty for both buyers and lenders.
These problems can take time to resolve, which is why the lease position should be reviewed well before the practice goes to market.
Exit planning gives you time to address the issue rather than discovering it during buyer due diligence.
05 – Leaving associate arrangements informal
A significant proportion of practice revenue may depend on associates remaining with the business after a sale.
Missing, outdated or poorly drafted agreements create uncertainty around that revenue and can become a major due diligence issue.
Key clinical relationships should be properly documented and reviewed before buyers begin scrutinising them.
06 – Allowing the practice to depend too heavily on you
A practice that relies heavily on the principal for clinical revenue, management decisions or key relationships can appear more risky to a buyer.
Reducing owner dependency takes time.
Building a stronger team, documenting processes and making the practice less reliant on you personally can make the business easier to transfer and more attractive to a future owner.
07 – Leaving tax planning until sale terms are agreed
The structure and timing of a future sale can have significant tax consequences.
Waiting until heads of terms have been agreed may limit the options available to you.
Your personal and corporate tax position should therefore be reviewed as part of the exit planning process, before commercial sale terms begin to take shape.
Reviews
What practice owners say
I have nothing but praise for Samera. I had a dental sale which lasted 2 years due to COVID. An extremely stressful experience. Throughout the whole process Samera, and in particular Arun, were totally amazing. There were a few occasions that the sale almost never went ahead. Samera were absolutely pivotal in ensuring that things progressed till completion. I’m so grateful to Arun and Team Samera.
Qazafi Khalil – 5 Stars
Been with Samera since 2008 when we bought our first dental practice. Their knowledge and expertise is second to none – not least because they also own their own dental practices, putting them in a unique position in terms of their knowledge and advice for the dental industry. Whether you’re setting up from scratch or acquiring an existing practice, Samera have been there to offer advice on raising finance, staff and team issues, tax knowledge, leadership and having a strong vision, marketing, getting into purchasing groups and also purchasing equipment.
Saijel Kachhala – 5 Stars
Arun, Natasha and all the team at Samera have provided outstanding service to me over a number of years – they are experts and are friendly and easy to deal with. Would thoroughly recommend.
Peter Grimes – 5 Stars
Huge thanks to Natasha, Aditi, Arun, Karyn and the entire Samera team for their outstanding support and guidance. Their professionalism, responsiveness and deep expertise is a great support for our business. I truly felt supported every step of the way. Highly recommended.
Rajvansh Juneja – 5 Stars
Your exit planning team
Meet the team preparing your practice for exit
CEO and Founder
Arun leads Samera’s exit planning work and personally oversees the strategic direction of the Practice Exit Accelerator.
A Fellow of the ICAEW and former Vice President at Bank of America, Arun has spent more than 25 years working with UK dental businesses. He also co-founded The Neem Tree Dental Group, giving him first-hand experience of the financial and operational decisions that shape practice value.
Director of Operations – Accountancy and Tax.
Natasha leads the financial delivery behind the Practice Exit Accelerator, with particular responsibility for the EBITDA improvement, financial reporting and risk-removal work.
She works closely with practice owners throughout the programme to ensure improvements are properly reflected in the accounts and supported by the evidence a future buyer will expect to see.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about exit planning
How far in advance should I start planning my exit?
Ideally, start preparing 18 to 24 months before you expect to sell.
Improving EBITDA, resolving lease or contract issues and building a stronger financial track record all take time. Starting early gives you more opportunity to improve the business before buyers begin assessing it.
Which exit planning option is right for me?
It depends on where you are in your exit journey.
The Exit Readiness Audit is for owners considering an exit who want to understand their current position.
The Practice Exit Accelerator is for owners planning to sell in the next 18 to 24 months who want to actively improve and prepare the business.
If your practice is already prepared and you are ready to go to market, our Sell your dental practice service manages the actual sale process.
What if I am not certain I want to sell yet?
You do not need to have made a final decision.
The Exit Readiness Audit helps you understand what your practice could be worth, what may be holding that value back and what could be improved.
Most of those improvements, such as stronger profitability, better reporting and reduced operational risk, also benefit you if you decide not to sell.
Does the Practice Exit Accelerator include selling my practice?
No. The Practice Exit Accelerator prepares your business for sale, but does not take it to market.
It focuses on improving EBITDA, reducing risk, preparing your financial information and getting you ready for buyer due diligence.
When you are ready to sell, you can move into our separate Sell your dental practice service, which covers marketing, buyer introductions, offers, negotiations and transaction support through to completion.
What if I am ready to sell now?
You may not need the full 18-month Practice Exit Accelerator.
We can first assess how prepared the practice is and identify any issues that should be addressed before launch. If the business is ready, you can move directly into our Sell your dental practice service.
Do I need to be an existing Samera accounting client?
No. The Exit Readiness Audit, Practice Exit Accelerator and dental practice sales service are available to owners who are not currently Samera accounting clients.
We will need access to the relevant financial information to understand your profitability, EBITDA and current exit position.
Does the Practice Exit Accelerator include a valuation?
Yes. We establish an indicative valuation at the beginning of the programme to understand your starting position and update it towards the end to reflect the progress made.
If you need a formal standalone valuation for another purpose, Samera also offers a separate dental practice valuation service.
What if my practice is part of a group?
The same principles apply, but group exits are usually more complex.
We may need to consider group-wide EBITDA, individual site performance, management structure, owner dependency, tax structure and the quality of consolidated financial reporting.
The Practice Exit Accelerator can be adapted for multi-site dental groups preparing for a future exit.
What happens if I decide not to sell?
You should still be left with a stronger business.
The programme is designed to improve sustainable EBITDA, financial reporting, contracts, operational resilience and owner dependency, not simply prepare paperwork for a transaction.
The right time to start planning your exit is always earlier than you think.
Whether you are still exploring your options, planning to sell in the next 18 to 24 months or ready to go to market now, we can help you work out the right next step.
Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team to discuss where your practice stands today and which route makes the most sense.
No obligation. No sales pressure. Just clear advice from dental specialists who understand the financial, operational and commercial realities of selling a practice.
Related services
Other services that pair with exit planning
Grow a dental practice
Our wider support for growing, structuring and building the long-term value of your dental practice or group.
Dental Practice Valuations
Understand what your dental practice is worth and the financial, operational and commercial factors influencing its value.
Tax Planning for Dental Practices
Plan the personal and corporate tax implications of a future sale before your exit structure and terms are fixed.
CFO and Growth Advisory
Ongoing financial and strategic support for owners and dental groups focused on improving performance, growth and long-term value.
Related reading
Guides to preparing and selling a dental practice
The value of a dental practice
How dental practice valuations actually work – and our free calculator.
Maximising your dental practice’s EBITDA
The webinar on EBITDA improvement – the lever that drives sale multiples.
How to build a dental group
For owners considering a multi-site exit path – the group-build playbook.
DSO Playbook: Exit 2030
Turn your dental group into a high-value, exit-ready enterprise before 2030 – exit structuring, EBITDA and tax planning for a sale.