8/5/2019 | Dental Practices

Portfolio of established dental practices sold to Riverdale Healthcare

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has completed on the sale of a portfolio of two mixed income dental practices in Tyne & Wear, Hebburn Dental Practice and Pelaw Dental Practices, to dentistry investment group, Riverdale Healthcare.



Located within two miles of one another, the two practices comprise a total of five surgeries and offer significant opportunity to expand the range of private and specialist treatments with potential to add further surgeries.

Founded approximately 50 years ago, the practices have been operated by the previous principal since 2005, becoming fully associate led since 2010. Previous principal, Julie Coates decided to sell in order to free herself from practice ownership so that she can focus on other ventures and comments, “Christie & Co was professional from start to finish. Our initial meeting at the practices established my aims and objectives of the sale and what I was hoping to achieve from it. Paul Graham and Joel Mannix at Christie & Co advised me on what I initially needed to do to get the practices to market and from then on they were available every step of the way. Paul was happy to assist me on any viewings and before too long he had secured me an offer from Riverdale. Christie & Co was a great support to me and worked very hard to ensure a stress-free acquisition. 

“I was very pleased to sell to Riverdale Healthcare. They were hugely supportive throughout the acquisition, not only in assisting me and making the transition as easy as possible, but also engaging themselves with all of the practice team. Selling a dental practice can be quite a daunting process, but Riverdale was very easy to deal with. Chris Aylward was extremely supportive, keeping in regular contact throughout. Any issues which arose were dealt with smoothly and efficiently and enabled the acquisition to be completed in less than six months. I was genuinely thrilled to hand over to such a lovely team as Riverdale.”

Riverdale Healthcare is a dentistry investment group with an industry-leading management team led by CEO Mark Seekings and backed by Apposite Capital, a leading healthcare investment firm. The team is selectively investing in ambitious dental practices that share the same ethos and core values of Riverdale Healthcare to provide high quality, ethical dentistry. 

Chris Aylward, Chief Investment Officer of Riverdale Healthcare comments, “We are really excited to have completed our first acquisition to add to the Alpha Vitality practices. Julie's practices are a perfect fit with the vision for Riverdale and we are looking forward to working with the practice teams to continue to deliver a patient focused dental service. The support and guidance from Paul Graham was excellent, right from the first notification of the opportunity through to completion, a really first class service.”

Paul Graham, Head of Dental at Christie & Co handled the sale and comments, “We were approached by Julie to market her portfolio, as it had previously gone unsold by another agent. It was imperative to her that the new buyer would be able to continue the legacy that she had worked so hard to build.

“After creating a bespoke brochure and agreeing on a confidential marketing process, the portfolio generated significant interest and multiple viewings. Ultimately, we were able to secure a successful offer from Riverdale Healthcare, an emerging operator in the UK. It was a pleasure to work with the team at Riverdale Healthcare and collaborate with all parties in order to get the deal across the line. The communication and support that their acquisition team were able to provide throughout the deal made for a much smoother transition for the seller.”