Which consultant in Dental Elite did you work with?
“I worked with Alistair Boothroyd on two sales in total, the first of which fell through and the second has not long completed.”
Was he is regular contact?
“During my first attempted sale in 2015 – which lasted about seven months before falling through – Alistair was very supportive and influential. Unfortunately, in that instance, the buyer walked away due to complications with the solicitors and landlords, but it had nothing to do with Alistair and I was pleased with the service. Thus, when it came to attempting to sell my practice for the second time, I had no doubt in my mind that he would be an asset to the sale. Sure enough, he was very hands-on in the initial stages and he was in regular contact when he needed to be.”
How quickly did you accept an offer?
“When I got the offer the second time I accepted straight away as I was satisfied with the bid that was placed.”
What would you say was the most challenging time of your sale?
“All of it! The process was so demanding it could be likened to a divorce! Yet, it wasn’t even the CQC paperwork and due diligence that made it so stressful, it was the solicitors and landlords of the property that proved to be most challenging. In fact, the three landlords were on occasion virtually impossible to deal with, and as a result, they lost me my first sale. All because the buyer wanted to extend the lease from 11 to 14 years and after five months of negotiations they refused the proposal.
“While there weren’t any major problems the second time, there were inaccuracies in the lease that needed changing that proved to be a bit of an issue. I think if the buyer hadn’t been so committed, they could have lost me the second sale too.
“Second time round, the buyer’s solicitors were equally as frustrating, not only because at times they were guilty of sitting on their hands, but because they would ask me a question, then ask the same question three months down the line – things like that are just unnecessary. My own solicitors, however, must be excluded from this, as I was, overall, extremely happy with their service.”
What delays were there?
“In the second sale there weren’t actually any major problems so delays shouldn’t have been an issue, but because of the buyer’s solicitors handling of the process, the sale took a lot longer than it needed to. And it wasn’t just me that was fed up; the buyer was also frustrated at times.”
Do you think these issues could have been avoided?
“Absolutely – they were 100 per cent as a result of arrogance and poor service, and there is definitely room for improvement. Having spent the last 30 years in private practice jumping whenever patients asked me to jump – in other words providing patient care with emphasis placed on quality customer service – I know how a service should be delivered, and I didn’t get it.”
What advice would you give to future sellers?
“After my experience, my advice would be to just be prepared, because at times a lot of things are outside of your control.”
How far in advance of selling did you tell your staff?
“As I had a great working relationship with all of my staff, I told them immediately that I would be selling the practice.”
Would you recommend Dental Elite?
“Dental Elite was extremely professional and proactive all the way through the sale, and both communicative and informative when it needed to be. As a result, it was by far the best service that I worked with. Plus, Alastair just got on with it – within a couple of weeks of deciding to sell my practice, he had placed adverts on the internet and completed the valuation. So yes, I would definitely recommend Dental Elite.”