Surviving the Corporatization of Veterinary Medicine as an Independent Practice
While the veterinary industry remains comparatively fragmented to other parts of health care, the area has seen substantial consolidation over the last five years. The consolidation has largely been led by Mars, Inc., who are considered by many to be the lone strategic buyer in the industry. But, as more private equity firms begin to explore sales of their investments in veterinary hospital groups, new strategic buyers attempting to capture economies of scale could emerge. In this coming shift, how can a veterinary practice owner continue to grow their practice, or, if the time is right, obtain the best value for their practice?
Private Equity has been a persistent investor in the veterinary industry because of the lack of strategic buyers, the attractive private pay revenue stream, and the largely recession proof market for veterinary services. Over the past 5 years the industry has seen two stages. First, the Ares purchase of National Veterinary Associates for 13x EBITDA in mid-2014 until the Morgan Stanley investment in Pathway Partners. The second stage began with Mars Inc.’s purchase of VCA at a multiple of 18x EBITDA in late 2017 is continuing today. The current climate of large valuations are seen when larger groups can capture economies of scale, roughly at 20 clinics. However, the purchase price for smaller groups and add-on investments has also crept up to about 8x-10x EBIDTA from 6x.
Currently, the expectation is that the private equity firms will remain active in the space for another 6-8 years at which point the market is expected to have become more consolidated. This shift will occur as investments reach the end of their timeline and begin to sell to established corporate groups like Mars or new strategic buyer entrants.
A practice owner in this environment can find it stressful to grow their business with the economic pressure that can come from corporate groups or feel anxious that they are not getting the best possible price for the business they have worked so hard to build.
First, remember that what makes a veterinary practice successful has not changed in the current environment. Veterinary practice owners should continue to do what some large corporations cannot: practice better medicine and offer better and more personalized client services! But in order to continue to grow and be attractive to clients and potential buyers, practice owners should learn from the corporate model and focus on the business side of revenue and improving efficiencies.
A few areas that practice owners can learn from the big corporations are:
Marketing
Corporations spend a lot of time marketing and it really matters. Spend time developing a marketing plan and thinking about strategic partners in the community.
Team and Client Education
Corporations do a great job and invest a lot of effort into making sure their teams are on the same page. Practice owners should develop training manuals for their employees on a variety of topics. Furthermore, corporations often have resources online to educate clients on major issues.
Talent Acquisition and Retention
Big corporations have the advantage when it comes from providing benefits to new and existing hires. Practice owners should educate themselves on benefit offerings and make the investment in the wellbeing of their associates and staff.
Facility Investment
Lastly, practice owners shouldn’t shy away from investing in the physical appearance of the practice. While corporations might be able to invest more money into renovations, smaller investments into the facilities of the practice can pay large dividends down the road.
In the climate of corporate competition, remember to focus on what made your practice successful in the first place. The independent veterinary practice will continue to survive, but the corporate structure is here to stay.
For more information, please contact Peter Tanella at 973.243.7915 or ptanella@lawfirm.ms.