There comes a time in every successful veterinary 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, it also introduces new complexities and risks into their life, which have the potential to bring down what they have built thus far.

Retirement is often thought of as an event, a date on the calendar, a threshold that you cross one day into a new phase of life. Making a person’s profession or retirement an “all in or all out” proposition like this makes it a big deal. It means that people looking at retirement need to:

Once a buyer and seller have agreed to the price and terms of a practice sale, their lawyers’ roles should be straightforward. It should be a matter of documenting pre-negotiated elements of the deal, in a way that both protects their clients’ interests and minimises any potential exposure to risk.

When a practice owner begins to think about selling their business, it often seems that the natural choice for the purchaser is close at hand, in the form of a trusted employee or contractor. They will often offer that trusted employee the ”right of first refusal” to purchase the practice, before they put it on the market.

Many people think that that the purchase of a veterinary practice is solely a financial transaction, and that the highest dollar offer will always win the day.

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.

One of the greatest fears buyers of veterinary practices have is that they will pay significant money for goodwill and there will be a mass exodus of clients when they take over. To mitigate this risk, any buyer needs to seriously look at the reasons why a client frequents the practice, and give them no reason to want to change their behaviour. 

Most people would acknowledge that it is inappropriate for a judge to preside over a case involving a family member. If they did, their decision could be influenced by their personal relationship with the person involved in case, rather than the facts. Any ruling would not be deemed fair and just to those who sought judgement (and it probably wouldn’t be).

The practice scene in Australia is changing rapidly, therefore practice owners need to be aware of strategic opportunities, so that the practice can continue to move forward with the industry (if you are not going forward, you are going backwards!). One of the options open to some practices is a practice merger with a near neighbour. So, when is a merger a good way to go, and what are the advantages of the strategy?

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects are usually a great source of pride for the person undertaking the project. It is a way of putting your unique touch on something, creating a personal vision or an ideal, from formless raw materials, often saving yourself money at the same time.