Not so long ago a good dental associate might get to keep 50% of the fees they generated. It was a good life. There’s been downward pressure on associate rates for years, but they’re expected to take a big hit as practices reopen after lockdown. With margins squeezed by PPE and decon protocols it’s possible associate rates could drop as low as 30%.

Meanwhile the price of dental practices has also dropped. Perhaps not as much as expected, but still by a significant amount, around 10%. Pre-Covid, many associates felt priced out of the traditional and well worn path of buying a practice after a few years working for someone else. Prices rose so high that for a while it seemed like only the corporates had pockets deep enough.

But now the corporates are offering lower prices and some owners, assuming the market has dumped and wanting out, are taking them. This brings some associates back into the fold as potential buyers, not least because the alternative route of life as an associate suddenly looks less appealing.

Hive offers a full and unique suite of services to support you if you are wondering whether buying your first practice makes sound financial sense. It being such an uncertain and confusing time, our end to end approach might be especially welcome to bring clarity and reassurance, even if the answer is not the one you were hoping for.

We can begin with a Discovery Day to get clear on what you want and whether buying is the right move for you. We can then appraise practices for sale, help you make a decision, and then walk you through the buying process and help you get up and running and grow the business.

The first question, naturally, is are you going to be better off than you were as an associate? You need to know what the take home pay is going to be after your debt repayments, and how that compares to other practices. We have access to the best deals on finance for dentists and we can support your business plan with proper forecasting.

As things progress we can work with your solicitor to make sure you have the right clauses in your paperwork as regards tax so that you are not liable to bear the brunt of anything unexpected. We would also take an interest in your acquisition structure — do you need to own the asset as a company or do you need a group structure? If you want family members involved there may be Inheritance Tax to take into account.

All these things are easier to do at the beginning and you get the best outcomes by dovetailing them all together seamlessly. Nothing lost in translation.

Hive can support you with a growth plan for the business before you even launch, which includes a marketing plan and supervision from our consultants. So we are here to support you all the way from first seeing a practice on the market to running it. But you’ll want to know first of all if buying is a feasible and sensible option for you at this time, which is where we would start our conversation.

Buying certainly isn’t an obvious choice. It’s stressful and can take a long time. Deals can get delayed and sidetracked. There are lots of unknowns, and as it’s your first time, you’re inexperienced. You’ll only ever do this once (buy your first practice) so it’s worth bearing in mind that we have contacts with some of the best dental solicitors. Having the best people smooths things out.

So if you’d like to get clear on whether buying is a viable route for you in 2020 and how it compares to associate work at a lower rate, give me a call and I’d be glad to help.