Sell a Veterinary Practice
Around 60 per cent of UK veterinary practices are now owned by large groups, up from a small minority a decade ago. That consolidation has created an active market for well-run independent practices and a set of experienced buyers who do this repeatedly while you do it once.
What This Guide Covers
- Who Buys Veterinary Practices
- What Determines the Price
- The Two Years Before
- Running the Process
The preparation you do before going to market determines most of the outcome.
Who Buys Veterinary Practices
- Corporate groups and consolidators
- Experienced, well funded and quick when they want something. They price on normalised EBITDA, they know exactly what adjustments to challenge, and their terms are drafted by people who do this every month.
- Regional groups
- Smaller acquirers building a local cluster. Often a better cultural fit and sometimes more flexible on terms, with less funding depth.
- Other independent practices
- A local practice merging yours in. Good for continuity, and duplicated roles are usually the difficult part.
- Internal successors
- Associates or partners buying you out over time. Usually a lower headline figure with better terms, more control over the outcome and a longer timescale.
What Determines the Price
Normalised EBITDA multiplied by a multiple, with the freehold valued separately if you own it. Everything else is detail around those two numbers.
The multiple reflects how risky your earnings look to a buyer. Owner dependency, team stability, lease security, client concentration and the quality of your records all move it, and all of them respond to work done in advance.
The Two Years Before
Reduce your own clinical and management indispensability. Stabilise the team and get contracts in order. Clean the accounts so personal costs are out and adjustments are defensible. Sort out the lease, the property ownership and any related company arrangements. Build the record set that due diligence will demand.
This is unglamorous work and it moves the price more than any negotiation will.
Running the Process
Get an independent valuation first so you know your own position. Decide whether to approach one buyer or run a competitive process, because a single interested party has very little reason to improve their first offer.
Negotiate heads of terms carefully, including how EBITDA is defined, what working capital is left in the business, and what you are committed to after completion. Then expect due diligence to be thorough, because it will be.
Last reviewed 3 August 2026. [REVIEWER DETAILS REQUIRED BEFORE PUBLICATION]
Sources
- Veterinary services market investigation, Competition and Markets Authority
Frequently Asked Questions
Is now a good time to sell a veterinary practice?
Should I use a broker?
What if I only want to sell part of the practice?
Discuss Selling Your Veterinary Practice
The best time to have this conversation is about two years before you sell. The second best time is now.