Should you buy a BUPA dental practice?

Bupa revealed today they are either divesting or merging approximately 85 dental practices across the UK. That’s almost 20% of their practices.

It was only around 10 years back they were acquiring (including our Neem Tree Canary Wharf practice was one of their earlier purchases in 2013), and now with the challenges many of the groups are facing they are planning to off load a whole bunch of dental practices across the UK.

Having looked at the list, I know some of the practices they are selling, as I brokered the sale to them from the original seller!!!

Now the world is changing, and BUPA is citing resourcing and the challenges in NHS dentistry as the reason for the significant changes.

Now the question must be asked, should you consider buying a BUPA practice if it comes on the market?

As I understand further details will be released in the next few days.

Three questions to ask yourself before you consider a purchase:

1. If Bupa could not do it, could you? A corporate is a difficult beast to navigate, with many slow-moving parts, if you have the hunger and entrepreneurial drive, you could pick up a practice for a song.
2. What about staffing the practice? Well BUPA have cited that they were struggling to find suitable dentists and team members to provide a certain level of care. I believe if an owner gets involved and gets their hands dirty, 8 times out of 10 the practice will develop and grow. But it’s essential that the practice is purchased at the right price.
3. Can you get the funding for the practice purchase? The easy answer is, it depends. There are numerous factors at play including what is being sold and for what price, and it’s so important not to get dragged into a competition for buying a practice, work out the numbers and then make a suitable offer.

Getting the right practice at the right price will be the most important thing if you are considering a purchase, and as we all know they are keen to offload, so you are already in a stronger position of negotiation.

If you need help with assessing, financing and carrying out the due diligence of one of the planned BUPA sales, get in touch with our experienced independent team as we have the expertise to assist.

Our finance team are extremely experienced and ready to help you make the right purchase at the right price.

Make sure you seek independent professional advice in making any such purchase.

A list of BUPA dental practices under change can be found here.