Veterinary Practice Representation
Our veterinary practice services include:
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Full-Service Acquisition Representation for Practice Buyers
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Full-Service Representation for Practice Sellers
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Partnership Changes (Buy-Ins & Buy-Outs)
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Closely-Held Transactions (Mentor/Associate & Family Owned Practices)
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Commercial Lease Review for New Practices (Start-Ups)
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Commercial Lease Negotiations (for Renewals)
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Real Estate Purchase Contracts
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New Entity Creation
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Multiple Practice Ownership
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Associate Agreements (Students, Associates and Employers)
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And More
“Natasha Gillis was the perfect fit for our starting business.
She guided us through the extensive lease process, she knew what was best for us, she has special attention to details and takes her time to discuss everything with you. We are extremely thankful to her and would recommend her service to anyone! Natasha, thank you for your help, we wouldn’t have been able to do this without you!”
Dr. Katrin Ventocilla Robinson, DVM
Start-Up Veterinary Practice (Lease and Entity Services)
Veterinary Practice Services
Veterinarian practices are becoming a high-demand business. As pet owners become more educated about the need and benefits of consistent, quality pet care, the need for skilled and flexible veterinarian practices is growing. We are also seeing a shift in veterinary practice philosophies with holistic/natural practices becoming more commonplace. Many veterinary practices are also starting to offer private membership plans to provide pet owners more opportunities to utilize much-needed preventative care when the cost is otherwise prohibitive as well as telemedicine options.
We work extensively with veterinarian practices in a range of matters including:
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Start-Up Locations: lease review, entity creation/governance documents
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Associate Agreement Review: for new professionals and professionals changing employers
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Associate Agreement Contracts (drafting and consultation): for employer practices
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Partnership Creation including buy-ins and buy-outs
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Veterinary Practice Acquisitions
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Veterinary Practice Sales, etc.
Quick Overview of the Acquisition Process For Veterinary Offices
Whether you are a buyer or seller of a veterinary practice, the acquisition process follows the same timeline as other healthcare industries. Depending on where you are looking, existing veterinary practices that are for sale can be hard to find. That's why negotiations can become intense and quick once a prospective office is located. Through our three-stage approach, we have helped a lot of new and existing practice owners understand and navigate the purchase process.
Stage 1: Tour the prospective office and enter into a Letter of Intent.
Stage 2: Engage in due diligence, start entity creation, review/draft/negotiate contracts (practice and real estate including the lease), work on funding/lending, identify any hurdles to purchase.
Stage 3: Prepare for transition and closing.
Each of these stages opens a segment to several other mini-stages which are merely identified here. We will walk you through each detail to make sure that you can focus on running your practice once you close. We offer a free 30 minute orientation call to give you more information as you prepare to start your acquisition journey.
Are Acquisitions or Start-Ups More Common in the Veterinary World?
Veterinary offices are unique because they have similar concerns as human healthcare practices with acquisitions often being desirable because they are (ideally) turn-key businesses with exam rooms, equipment and with a book of patients already secured. Running a successful clinic requires staff, technology and a good amount of marketing in the right location. Demographic studies are critical to ensure that a specific location has a good population of pet owners who are willing and able to secure necessary care for their pets. For these reasons, many younger veterinarians who are looking to own a practice are attracted to building their own offices from ground up (a “start-up”) since acquisitions often require a fair amount of work to get to the point of strong profitability. With a start-up, while the initial costs seem high, the earning potential may be higher with some proper planning and strategy especially to account for patient capacity. Depending on geographical location, it can be very difficult to find a turn-key practice for sale that does not have a history or story of its own. For that reason, veterinary start-ups are extremely popular as a means to achieve practice ownership.
Does this mean that acquiring a veterinary practice is a bad idea? No, not all! In fact, acquiring a practice can be a great idea based on the individual doctor’s business plan. As with all business decisions, a strong business plan can help identify whether a potential opportunity is a good opportunity. Another thing to consider is that an associate buy-in in the veterinary world can be ideal for an aspiring practice owner to allow for quick expansion and more capacity for growth. As with all acquisitions, the key lies in finding the right opportunity, which can take time and a fair amount of research.
If you are considering an acquisition or start-up, feel free to contact us for a complimentary consultation.
We Love People Who Love Pets. Here's Why.
Meet Bella! Bella is half poodle, half bichon. She may be small but her personality is quite large. She is Natasha Gillis's "fur baby" and loving "fur sister" to her human brothers. She is well cared for and very loved. She is wonderful with young children, very athletic and extremely agile for her small size. Bella was introduced into the Gillis family as a surprise but welcome Christmas gift 2 years after losing their previous fur baby, Hercules, a coton de tulear mix at the age of 11.5 years from sudden, unexpected congestive heart failure.
Natasha's love and appreciation for veterinary practices started when Hercules was just a puppy as she consulted with his vet through preventative care (including many dental visits) and a few larger health scares including potential tick-related seizures. Her admiration and love for veterinarians grew while Hercules was seeking care for his heart condition. Through the help of his healthcare team, Natasha learned about the importance of nutrition and the role of genetics which has helped her become a more educated pet owner as she now cares for Bella.
Veterinarians are one of the most compassionate and loving healthcare professionals. As pet owners to cats, dogs and tropical birds, the Gillis Firm team has seen the impact that veterinarians have not only on pet patients but also on pet families. We strive to give our veterinarians the same level of advocacy and honesty that they give to those in need of their expertise.
