How Can You Benefit from a Specialist Dental Accountant?  with Alan Suggett - Head of  Dental Business & Partner at UNW LLP Chartered Accountants Pt.1

Interview with Alan Suggett - Head of  Dental Business & Partner at UNW LLP Chartered Accountants - Part 1    ‘He is someone who has his finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the dental industry’  In this first interview for ’The Dental Business’ Podcast Brad is in conversation with Alan Suggett head of the Dental Business Unit and Partner at UNW LLP chartered accountants.  He looks after more than 500 dentist clients throughout the UK and writes regularly for the dental press.  With extensive expertise and breadth of experience in the field of specialist dental accountancy, Alan is a guest who offers something for everyone working within the dental profession. Brad and Alan discuss the positives and challenges from the beginning of the journey – potentially purchasing a practice through to the steps to take to make exiting effective from a dental practice.     KEY TAKEAWAYS  The market is evolving and for certain practices, the buyer will invariably be a corporate so a sales agent is not required.  The quarterly bulletin we produce includes a quarterly survey based on practice sales and valuations it is an indicator of movements in the market based purely on goodwill values as a percentage of gross.  Larger and more profitable practices are sold based on multiples of profits  There are practices that are not in hot areas – known as pauper practices they have low-value NHS contracts and are in challenging locations with low UDE rates.  These practices can not only have a low value but also be difficult to sell at any point.  Reviewing the differences between types of practices provides a useful insight into the challenges of only reviewing averages.  The valuation of benchmarking is a really good way to get an insight into how someone is running a practice.  For a first time, buyer to most likely potential lenders are Lloyds, Barclays and Wesleyan.  It’s still possible for dental associates to buy a high-ticket price dental practice.  Each lender has the ability to set their own levels of money when lending.  The criteria for Barclays and Wesleyan includes a 20% deposit but the unique selling point for Lloyds is their potential flexibility around the percentage of the deposit.  The NHS contracts provide a level of security with predictable returns.  In dental practices, even those which are scaling up, the owner is still usually carrying out dental treatments.  In private practice, it’s vital to be marketing aware, to have effective external marketing that is consistent and enables potential clients to see what you can offer.  People now have a different expectation of normal. They are now much more aware of other dental practices and can easily access marketing about other practices.  It’s an illusion that if you are a good dentist and do your job well you can progress to being the business owner.  It’s about being an entrepreneur, it is entrepreneurs who take risks and succeed.    BEST MOMENTS  ‘Why would you target a business in the NHS when business returns are declining’  ‘General erosion, the death by a thousand cuts is another problem’  ‘The rate of NHS dental pay does not keep track with actual dental costs in an NHS practice’       ABOUT THE GUEST  Alan Suggett  Alan is a Chartered Accountant and Partner in UNW LLP chartered accountants where he is Head of the Dental Business Unit which looks after more than 500 dentist clients throughout the UK. Alan writes regularly for the dental press, and presents at BDA seminars.  He is a member of the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants & Lawyers (NASDAL) and a member of the technical committee, and chair of the NHS Superannuation committee.  He is also a member of the Association of Specialist Providers to Dentistry (ASPD). Alan is the editor of the quarterly NASDAL goodwill survey which analyses all member client practice sales, purchases, and valuations.     CONTACT METHOD  T: +44 (0)7860 246 718  E: [email protected]      ABOUT THE HOST  Brad believes that everyone at any level should be focused on achieving multiple sources of income to create diversity and balance in life. He feels passionate about helping dentists work towards freedom by building wealth in different areas and helping to develop a mindset to improve one’s ability to handle the stresses of clinical life.   Still a practising dentist, Brad has implemented strategies to create a practice to allow him to carry out the dentistry he wants whilst continually expanding with loyal staff and patients. These strategies can be adapted to any dentist, whether you are an associate or the practice owner, to help bring back your passion for dentistry.    In addition to running a successful private dental practice, he has grown several other dental businesses and as an investor is growing wealth outside of dentistry to help protect his legacy for his growing family.    He is chair of the Horsforth Town Team, dedicated to the promotion and development of business in his local area in North Leeds, UK.    Due to his track record and down to earth advice, he has become sought after as a mentor and spends part of his time dedicated to mentoring dental professionals about business, mindset and personal development.     CONTACT METHOD  Brad Thornton Instagram  Brad Thornton LinkedIn  Brad Thornton Facebook