Building a successful veterinary clinic takes years of hard work. However, when the time comes to move on, it’s important to understand your options. As a veterinary practice owner, the correct exit strategy can ensure a healthy profit and smooth transition to retirement or your next business venture. On the other hand, the wrong exit strategy can bring your plans to a screeching halt. In this article, we discuss exit strategies for veterinarians.
What is an Exit Strategy?
An exit strategy is a strategic plan for selling one’s ownership in a veterinary clinic to a person or organization. For a successful practice, a sale can be highly profitable. And for a practice that has experienced difficulties, the right exit strategy can help to limit losses. So, whether your practice is profitable or not, choosing the correct exit strategy is imperative.
Common Types of Exit Strategies
The exit strategy you choose will depend on your specific circumstances. The most common types of exit strategies are mergers and acquisitions and sales to private individuals.
Merger and acquisition: An option to consider when exiting your practice is to sell it to a corporation or merge it with another clinic. When merging with a corporate practice, it will likely have its own centralized management system, meaning that your practice will be required to adapt to that practice’s operating procedures and culture.
Sale to an individual: Another common type of exit strategy is a sale to a private party. This option is often preferable for an owner who wants to retain the cultural values of his or her practice following the sale. In addition, private sales are sometimes made to investors who are primarily interested in the operational aspects of a practice and wish to scale it. Also, veterinary practice owners sometimes sell their practices to other veterinarians.
The Importance of an Exit Strategy
As a veterinary practice owner, determining when and how to exit is an important decision, especially considering all the time and effort you’ve put into growing your veterinary practice. Not only can the correct exit strategy help secure your financial future, but it can ensure that the values of your practice continue long after you’re gone. Therefore, regardless of your reason for exiting your veterinary practice, you shouldn’t leave the results of your exit to chance. Instead, you should contact an experienced veterinary attorney to ensure that you are fully aware of your exit options.
Contact Our Experienced Veterinary Attorneys
If you are seeking to exit your veterinary practice, you need an experienced and knowledgeable veterinary lawyer on your side. At Mahan Law, our distinguished veterinary professionals understand the steps necessary to successfully exit a veterinary practice. When you come to us for help, we will help formulate an exit strategy that aligns with your personal and financial goals. If you are ready to begin the process, please contact us as soon as possible to schedule an initial consultation with one of our experienced veterinary attorneys.