Entries by Simon Palmer

Protecting Yourself From a Bad Valuation

A practice or real estate sale is usually a high-stakes transaction involving hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars changing hands. Quite often, the buyer and seller will base the price paid for a practice on an appraisal or valuation that has been done by an accountant. …And yet, if a business or real estate […]

Frequently Asked Questions About Vet Practice Valuations

A valuation can be one of the most important tools in a business. It can help you with business strategy and planning, it can guide the decision to sell your practice and retirement planning. Somehow though, there is little understanding among vet practice owners surrounding: When should a practice owner get a valuation? Where they should go […]

Interview Paolo and Anne

COVID19 and Vet Practice Values Since the introduction of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Australia, many industries have been severely impacted, and the road to recovery for many of them is still uncertain. While there are some chicken littles out there, running around saying that the sky is falling and hoarding enough toilet paper to […]

Restraint of trade in vet practice sales

Veterinary practice sales involve large sums of money changing hands. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars being paid in compensation for goodwill. But how does the buyer know that he/she will get that goodwill? The success of this transfer will depend largely upon how the vendor behaves post sale. • Will they endorse […]

Second Practice: Second Entity?

There comes a time in every successful dental practice owner’s career when they consider opening another branch, or buying another practice. This juncture represents a possible turning point in their personal fortune. It introduces an opportunity to grow their wealth by expanding the scale and scope of their business interests and, at the same time, […]

“The fish was this big!” and other valuation distortions

When someone is looking to buy or sell a practice, they are often presented with an appraisal of the practice that has been prepared by the other party in the transaction. While the results of the practice’s trading may be clear, there are numerous appraisal techniques to choose from, and often some creativity applied when using them.

Terms like “Production/Revenue”, “profit”, “EBIT” and “expenses” are of course fundamental to any valuation technique, and there should be an objective universal definition of what they mean. Unfortunately, as you will see, they can be manipulated by people who are self-taught or trying to push their own agenda.

Here are some of the creative approaches to valuations that can distort value.

Leaving a Perfect Legacy in the Buyer of your Practice: Putting the Cart Before the Horse

If given the option of selling to two or three parties, each offering a similar price and terms for a practice, then of course a vendor can factor in compatibility, personality and gut instinct, to determine who would be a good successor. However, starting off with a specific profile in mind for who the right buyer is, is to put the cart before the horse. Selling your practice needs to be a commercial decision at its core.