Maximising the Sale of Your Practice: Insider Secrets Revealed

Selling your healthcare practice can feel like navigating uncharted waters, but it doesn’t have to be that way! In this issue of MSK Momentum, we’re thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Joshua Catlett, founder of Verilo—a specialist business brokerage in the health, medical, and wellness sectors. Joshua has been in your shoes, having built and sold one of the UK’s largest physiotherapy groups. Now, he’s on a mission to help clinic owners like you maximise the value of their hard work. From preparing your practice for sale to understanding what buyers are looking for in 2025, Joshua shares insider tips and strategies that could make all the difference when it’s time to sell. Whether you’re planning to retire or just exploring your options, this is advice you don’t want to miss.

Q: Joshua, can you tell us a bit about Verilo and what makes it unique?

Verilo is a specialist business brokerage focused on the health, medical, and wellness sectors. We work with owners looking to sell their practices and connect them with serious buyers. What makes us unique is our sector expertise and hands-on approach. We don’t just list businesses—we guide owners through valuation, negotiation, and the entire sales process to maximise their exit value.

Q: What trends are you seeing in the market for healthcare and wellness businesses?

There’s a strong demand for high-quality businesses, especially in aesthetic medicine, physiotherapy, and multidisciplinary or specialist clinics. Private equity and trade buyers are actively looking for scalable opportunities, and individual practitioners are also keen to acquire businesses with strong patient bases. However, buyers are becoming more selective, focusing on businesses with solid financials and efficient operations.

Q: What are buyers looking for in 2025?

Buyers are prioritising businesses with stable cash flow, strong operational teams, and clear growth opportunities. Technology and efficiency are also becoming key factors—practices that leverage digital marketing, patient management systems, and streamlined operations tend to attract higher valuations. With economic uncertainty, buyers want businesses that can weather market fluctuations.

Q: For somebody looking to retire and sell their practice in the next 5 years, what should they be doing now?

✅The owner needs to make the clinic as self-reliant as possible. Remove yourself from the day-to-day tasks and keep what revenue you generate to a minimum – ideally less than 20%!

✅Security of tenure is important to buyers. A long-term (10-15 year) lease inside the Landlord and Tenant Act is ideal. While a long lease can be daunting, you can try to include tenant-only break clauses in the contract to maintain flexibility.

✅Drive turnover and profit – the pool of buyers who will consider buying a business bringing in less than £200k turnover is very small. Your chances of sale improve considerably the larger your business is. The business will be valued on a multiple of profit, so don’t neglect the bottom line.

✅If opening a practice with the goal of exiting, it is usually easier to sell a clinic close to a metropolitan area rather than a more remote area.

✅Don’t just rely on your name and word of mouth. Build brand equity with quality online assets and marketing campaigns that are scalable.

Q: What’s the trade-off between selling fast vs taking time to maximise the price?

If you don’t plan your exit and allow sufficient time, you may not get the best outcome. If you have a good, saleable practice, then we always recommend going through a strategic sale process – this allows you to benchmark buyers and offers, generate sufficient competition, and ultimately get the right buyer at the right price.

It often takes around six months to secure a deal, although in some instances, we have had businesses go under offer in under three weeks! Once a deal is agreed, the legal and due diligence process tends to take a further three to four months.

Q: What are the biggest mistakes clinic owners make when preparing to sell their practice?

Trying to sell to their associates. Nine times out of ten, the sale falls through. Associates often mean well but don’t make good buyers – they lack experience in buying and operating businesses and, more often than not, cannot secure the funds. It also can be detrimental to the owner and associate’s relationship if they can’t reach a deal. If the associate then leaves, it decreases the saleability of the practice. So, it is a greater risk. However, it is great when it does work.

It’s preferable to run a structured sale process through a third party – this ensures the owner can focus on the day-to-day while the broker finds a buyer and negotiates the right deal.

If you want associates to be involved in the bidding process, then it is better to involve them after you’ve gone to the wider market so you can benchmark their offer properly.

Q: How does owning specialist equipment affect the sale price of a practice?

Most practices we see are asset-poor, so it wouldn’t affect the sale price significantly. Small equipment like couches, computers, and stock are typically included in the price, whereas more expensive items like shockwave machines may be added to the price at market value, depending on age and service history.

If a practice offers more specialist services or has a unique piece of equipment, clients may be willing to travel further to receive treatment. This might attract a more diverse pool of buyers and make it more saleable and valuable.

Q: How can business owners get in touch with you if they want to explore their options?

They can visit our website at Verilo.co.uk or reach out to us directly for a confidential chat. We’re always happy to discuss their goals and see how we can help them with the sale process.

Final Thoughts

Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the world of selling healthcare practices. Joshua’s expertise shines a light on the steps you can take today to secure a brighter tomorrow. If you’re considering selling or just want to explore your options, don’t hesitate to connect with Joshua and his team at Verilo. They’re here to guide you every step of the way. Until next time, here’s to building—and selling—a legacy worth celebrating!

Cya next time,

Charlie @ MSK Momentum