Selling a Veterinary Practice
Most of the value in a practice sale is created in the two years before the practice goes to market, not in the negotiation. Earnings quality, owner dependency, team stability and the state of the records all move the price, and all of them take time to change.
We work with owners planning an exit years ahead, and with those already holding an approach from a buyer.
Preparing the Practice
- Clean, credible earnings
- Two to three years of consistent accounts with personal expenses out of the business and adjustments that a buyer accountant will accept without argument.
- Reduced owner dependency
- The single largest factor in both price and deliverability. Moving clinical work and client relationships to the team takes eighteen months and is worth more than any other single action.
- A stable clinical team
- Full rota, contracts in place, key people committed. A practice reliant on locums prices lower and is harder to sell.
- Records that survive scrutiny
- Management accounts, stock records, plan membership data, contracts, leases and compliance documents. Gaps found in due diligence become price reductions.
- A tidy structure
- Property held personally, related companies, director loans and unusual arrangements all need resolving before a sale, not during it.
The Sale Process
Whether you go to a limited group of buyers or run a wider process, the sequence is similar: prepare the information, agree a valuation position, approach buyers, negotiate heads of terms, then survive due diligence.
Heads of terms deserve real attention. They are usually not binding but they set the framework, and it is far harder to improve a point after they are signed than before.
Tax on a Practice Sale
The tax outcome can vary by a substantial amount depending on structure and timing, and some of the reliefs have qualifying conditions that must be met for a period before the sale. That is why the tax conversation belongs at the planning stage rather than after heads of terms.
Where a share sale is on the table, business asset disposal relief and the conditions attached to it matter, as does how any deferred consideration or earn-out is structured. Where the sale is of trade and assets from a company, there are two layers of tax to consider, one in the company and one on extraction.
Selling to a Corporate Group
Corporate buyers are experienced, well advised and buy practices regularly. You will do this once. The imbalance is real, and it shows up in the detail: how EBITDA is defined, what working capital is left in the business, how an earn-out is measured, and what you are committed to after completion.
None of that means a corporate sale is the wrong choice. It means the terms deserve the same scrutiny the buyer will apply to your accounts.
Common Mistakes
- Starting the conversation too late
- An owner who decides to sell in six months has almost no ability to change the value. Two years gives real options.
- Negotiating price without defining EBITDA
- A multiple means nothing until both sides agree what it is applied to. Define the earnings basis in the heads of terms.
- Letting due diligence find the problems
- Everything a buyer discovers is a price reduction. Everything you disclose up front is just a fact.
Last reviewed 3 August 2026. [REVIEWER DETAILS REQUIRED BEFORE PUBLICATION]
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to sell a veterinary practice?
We have had an unsolicited approach. Should we engage?
Will I have to stay on after the sale?
What happens to my team?
Do we have to tell the team, and when?
What if we go through the process and decide not to sell?
Discuss Selling Your Veterinary Practice
The most useful conversation happens two years before you sell. If you are already further along than that, it is still worth having.