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Practice makes perfect: offering bespoke support to the dental sector

Read time: 2 mins       Added: 31/07/2023

A strong mix of healthcare specialism and a flexible approach to funding, has allowed FTA Finance Ltd to broker a deal that gives their client the freedom to take ownership of their practice and control their repayments. 

Director and principal dentist of Harley Street Dental Studio, Dr Adam Thorne, was introduced to our Commercial Broker Intermediaries team via David Brewer at FTA Finance Ltd. FTA Finance Ltd are a specialist healthcare brokerage focusing on dental, pharmacy, GPs, veterinary practices and opticians. Established nearly 20 years ago, they have been working with Lloyds Bank since 2008.

Harley Street Dental Studio is a purpose built 6-floor, 9-surgery, multi-disciplinary dental clinic with a reputation as one of the UK’s most respected practices. It is the recipient of several industry accolades, and Dr Adam Thorne was seeking finance to buy out his business partner to support his succession plans, seeing him acquire 100% of the shares in the practice. Representing a common trend in the dental sector, the deal, close to £6 million, was provided in a holding company structure.

Although representing a large deal to a single dentist, the offer reflected the level of trust we had in Adam’s experience and reputation, and our long-standing relationship and commitment with FTA Finance.

The 5-year Partial Amortising loan gave Adam the flexibility to refinance down the line, and to take advantage of a lower interest rate due to the 5-year commitment. It took roughly 10 months to complete, involving a number of stakeholders, including valuers and solicitors.

In this time, the standard due diligence was conducted on the practice, including financial details and a valuation report, as well as the important legal process.

Healthcare specialists

Not all lenders offer locally based relationship managers who are specialists in healthcare. As a key sector for us, we also offer a dedicated healthcare intermediaries’ team who collaborate with specialist firms such as FTA finance to get the deal done. Adam now has a specialist relationship manager as his main bank contact on an ongoing basis. 

“Providing funding to the healthcare sector requires a specialist understanding of how it’s funded, as well as the nuances around how complex funding packages are structured, so working with sector experts is essential to a smooth client journey.”

Jason Farren Healthcare Director, Lloyds Bank intermediaries’ team

 

Dental practices are highly regulated, and so understanding the sector is crucial. For this deal, it was paramount that everyone involved, including a number of professionals in the chain - valuer, solicitor, and Lloyds Bank of course, all had a specialism for this sector. Adam’s proposal was presented as part of a tender to several lenders, but he chose Lloyds Bank based on our sector knowledge, and our experience in working with businesses like his.

We were able to provide a bespoke package of pricing to meet Adam’s requirements, which means he is now the sole principal of the practice. This provides the required remit to take the business in his chosen direction, attract a range of new talent to his team, and will enable him to grow his practice into the future. 

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