Sell Your Dental Practice
Thinking of selling your dental practice? Christie & Co guides you from appraisal to completion, combining national buyer reach with local market knowledge to help achieve the right outcome for your sale.
A specialist team behind your sale
Selling a dental practice is a full-time job. Let us run the sale, so you can keep running your practice.
At Christie & Co, we combine national buyer reach with local market knowledge to find the right buyer at the right value. Speak to us about your objectives and likely valuation range.
We manage the process through a single point of contact for a seamless and effective sale.
Contact an expert today: call +44 333 034 1755, or email using the button below.
Why dental practice owners choose Christie & Co
How do I sell my dental practice?
Selling a dental practice involves more than finding a buyer.
The right approach depends on your practice, timescale and objectives.
A specialist broker can help establish the likely value, prepare the practice for market, identify suitable buyers and manage the transaction through to completion.
Steps to Selling Your Dental Practice
| Stage | What happens | What Christie & Co provides |
| 1. Confidential conversation | Discuss goals, timing, exit plans and confidentiality | Initial advice, route-to-market recommendation |
| 2. Market appraisal | Review financials, income mix, property, CQC and buyer demand | Indicative valuation range and sale-readiness advice |
| 3. Sale preparation | Gather accounts, contracts, NHS schedules, lease and compliance documents | Preparation checklist and information request |
| 4. Marketing strategy | Decide open, discreet or targeted approach | Buyer targeting plan and marketing materials |
| 5. Buyer qualification | Assess serious buyers and funding position | Shortlist of suitable, vetted buyers |
| 6. Offers and negotiation | Compare price, structure, deferred terms and tie-in | Offer comparison and negotiation support |
| 7. Due diligence and completion | Legal, financial, property and regulatory checks | Deal management through exchange and completion |
What affects the value of your practice?
A dental practice valuation is not based on turnover alone. Buyers consider the quality and transferability of its income.
Important factors include:
- Adjusted profit / EBITDA
- NHS, private and plan income mix
- Owner dependency
- Chair utilisation and growth potential
- Lease or freehold terms
- Staff and associate agreements
- CQC / regulatory position
- Equipment and investment needs
- Quality of financial records
- Local competition and buyer demand
How do these factors affect valuation?
Financial performance is the starting point, but valuers also assess how sustainable and transferable earnings are. Practices with similar turnover can therefore have very different values.
These factors are then weighed against buyer demand and market evidence to establish a realistic range.
Preparing your dental practice for sale
Buyers, lenders and solicitors ask about income quality, staffing, property, contracts, CQC, equipment and patient base. Preparing this information early helps prevent price chips, delays, withdrawals and late-stage renegotiation.
Before going to market, start pulling together:
- Last three years’ accounts and management information
- NHS contract and payment schedules, if applicable
- Private plan income and patient membership figures
- Lease and freehold information
- Staff, associate and self-employed contracts
- CQC / regulatory registration and inspection information
- Equipment inventory, servicing and maintenance records
- Details of complaints, disputes or ongoing issues
- Supplier, finance, hire purchase and lease agreements
- A clear view of what you want after completion
Planning further ahead?
Read our five-year dental practice exit-planning guide.
Who buys dental practices?
Different buyers value different things.
Christie & Co can help you compare offers from first-time buyers, existing practice owners, regional groups, national operators, corporate buyers and investors.
| Buyer type | What they typically want | Deal structure & headline price | Post-sale commitment | Often best if you want… |
| First-time buyer (individual dentist) | A practice to own and run hands-on | Usually bank-funded (typically 10–30% deposit); can be very competitive on price in a strong lending market | Short handover, not a long tie-in | A clean exit and continuity of ethos |
| Existing independent owner (expanding) | A complementary practice, often nearby | Bank or cash funded; pragmatic, sector-savvy on price | Limited tie-in; often retains your team | A knowledgeable buyer and smooth transition |
| Regional group / smaller DSO | To build density in a region | Mix of cash and deferred consideration; may include an earn-out and can be competitive on price for the right practice. | May want a clinical/associate commitment for a period | Scale-backed certainty with some local feel |
| National corporate / large DSO | Practices fitting set acquisition criteria | Can offer a high headline figure, but often with deferred consideration, earn-outs and conditions; funding can be more certain | Frequently a multi-year tie-in or earn-out, plus integration to group systems | Potential for a higher headline value, if you're comfortable with the post-sale terms |
| Investor / fund (platform-backed) | Portfolio growth and returns | Structured; equity rollover sometimes possible | May want management continuity or rolled-over equity | To roll into a larger group or stay involved at scale |
The highest offer is not always the strongest offer. We also assess each buyer’s funding position, proposed terms, timescales and ability to progress through due diligence. This helps identify offers that are both commercially attractive and realistically deliverable.
Where relevant, we may coordinate with Christie Finance to understand funding requirements and reduce avoidable delays.
Sell directly or use an agent?
Have you been approached directly by a buyer?
It's increasingly common in dentistry: corporates, groups and individual buyers often approach owners before a practice is openly for sale.
A direct deal can feel quick and simple, but without independent advice it's easy to leave value on the table or accept terms that weaken later in the process.
| Selling with Christie & Co | Selling Direct |
| An accurate, evidence-based appraisal so your asking price reflects true market value | No independent benchmark for what your practice is really worth |
| A tailored marketing plan that presents the practice at its best and reaches the right buyers | Often a single-buyer negotiation, with less competitive tension, drives price and terms |
| Buyer funding and offer deliverability reviewed upfront, helping reduce fall-through risk and wasted time | No visibility of the buyer’s funding, increasing the risk of an abortive deal |
| Hands-on deal management to keep momentum, resolve issues and keep buyers engaged | Limited insight into deal mechanics, timelines and market norms |
| Competitive tension across multiple vetted buyers to protect price and terms | Less independent leverage when terms, due diligence or renegotiation become difficult |
| Independent, RICS-regulated advice from appraisal through to completion | Headline offers that can quietly erode into weaker terms before completion |
In a competitive market, independent advice protects value. If you've had an approach, it's worth a confidential conversation before you respond.
Selling confidentially
Many practice owners want to explore a sale without unsettling staff, patients, associates or competitors.
A discreet sale can restrict how the opportunity is marketed, how information is shared and when buyers are introduced.
The right approach depends on your priorities, timescale and likely buyer pool. We can advise whether discreet or open marketing is most appropriate.
Why sell with Christie & Co?
Selling a dental practice is a major commercial and personal decision.
Christie & Co combines specialist dental brokerage, valuation expertise and market insight through a national team with local coverage across the UK.
We help sellers understand their position in the market, reach serious vetted buyers and manage the transaction from initial appraisal through to exchange and completion.
- Specialist dental brokerage advice from a national team
- Valuation support from RICS-registered professionals
- Access to serious, vetted buyers, including independents, groups and investors
- Local market knowledge through Christie & Co’s UK office network
- Support with negotiation, due diligence and completion
- Confidential marketing designed to protect staff, patients and business continuity
Why use a specialist dental practice broker?
Selling a dental practice is not the same as selling a standard commercial property.
Value and buyer appetite can be influenced by goodwill, income mix, owner dependency, CQC requirements, NHS contracts, associate arrangements, patient plans, premises and buyer funding.
A specialist dental broker understands how these factors affect a sale, can position the practice for the right buyer groups and compare offers on more than headline price, including structure, funding and likelihood of completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the buyer, deal structure, funding, lease/property position, CQC / regulatory requirements and due diligence. Our current data indicates an average of 201 days from offer acceptance to exchange. It can take several months after a sale is agreed, so owners should start planning early.
Contact Us
Have a confidential conversation about your objectives, likely valuation range and the best route to market for your dental practice.
Our Dental Team
Dental Market Review 2025
An insight into the UK dental market.