Business acquisition opportunity
Private-weighted dental group, South West England and South Wales
Anonymised as Project Sable
Anonymised mandate, codename PROJECT SABLE
Private-weighted dental group, South West England and South Wales
Private-weighted dental group across the South West and South Wales
Why this business is called Project Sable
Project Sable is a working codename, chosen at random by DealFlowAgent (DFA) and standard practice in mergers and acquisitions. It exists so the business can be discussed with acquirers, funders and advisers without naming the company or alerting its staff, customers and competitors. The codename is not connected to the company, its brand or its trading name, and searching for it online will return nothing about this business. Everything you need in order to judge fit is on this page in banded form. The company is named to one verified acquirer only, after the owner approves that specific introduction in writing.
A founder-led dental group operating a cluster of practices across the South West of England and South Wales, weighted toward private and plan revenue, with low clinician turnover and a central management function already in place. Twenty-two years of trading. Not on the market, and not represented by anyone else.
Verified acquirers only. A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis. Identity is disclosed at the third gate, with the owner's written approval.
Indicative value range
£16M to £21M
Derived from comparable UK transactions in this sector over the last 24 months. This is a market reference, not the owner's number. The reserve is set separately and disclosed under non-disclosure agreement.
- Sector
- Dental, private-weighted
- Region
- South West England and South Wales
- Ownership
- Founder-led
- External investors
- None
- Structure sought
- 60% to 100%
- Adviser status
- Unrepresented
£9-13M
Revenue
18-22%
EBITDA margin
Above 70%
Private and plan revenue
8-12 sites
Practices
40-60
Surgeries
45-65
Clinicians
20+ yrs
Trading history
10-15%
Revenue growth 3yr avg
Why every figure is a band
Companies on this register are real businesses with staff, customers and suppliers who do not know their owner is listening to the market. Exact figures are a fingerprint: a precise turnover, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to a single company. These bands are wide enough to protect identity and wide enough that a growing business does not fall out of its own mandate. Every band is verified against filed accounts and management information held by DealFlowAgent (DFA). Precise figures are released under a non-disclosure agreement.
01 Opportunity at a glance
What the business actually does
The group operates a cluster of practices across the South West of England and South Wales, weighted toward private and membership plan revenue rather than NHS contract volume. Finance, compliance, marketing and procurement are already centralised, and clinician tenure across the group averages above six years.
Above 70% of revenue is private and membership plan, with several thousand plan patients providing a recurring monthly base across the group.
- Revenue mix
- Above 70% private and membership plan
- Membership plan patients
- Several thousand
- Sites
- 8 to 12, clustered rather than dispersed
- Surgeries
- 40 to 60
- Clinician retention
- Average tenure above 6 years
- Central function
- Finance, compliance, marketing and procurement already centralised
- CQC position
- All sites registered, no outstanding enforcement
- Outstanding litigation
- None disclosed
02 Why now
Sector timing
UK dental consolidation continues to favour private-weighted groups with centralised management and stable clinician teams, because those are the three things an acquirer cannot quickly build. Groups of this size and quality are typically acquired directly rather than through an open process.
The central function is built and the group runs without the founder day to day. A reserve has been set so the group is never put into a public process.
What has changed for this owner
The founder has built the central function specifically so the group could operate without them day to day, and has now reached the point where that is true. The decision was to see what a qualified acquirer would pay at a figure set in advance, without putting the group into a public process that would unsettle clinicians.
03 Financial profile
Three years, published as bands
Three years apart, published as bands and verified against filed accounts and management information. Growth is a mix of organic list growth and a small number of site additions, both quantified in the pack.
| Measure | Three years ago | Most recent full year |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £6-9M | £9-13M |
| Private and plan share | 62-70% | Above 70% |
| EBITDA margin | 15-19% | 18-22% |
| Clinician retention | Above 5 years | Above 6 years |
| Net debt | Disclosed under NDA | |
| Property | Mix of freehold and leasehold, disclosed under NDA | |
Where the earnings quality sits
- Growth is a mix of organic list growth and a small number of site additions, both quantified in the pack.
- Margin expansion has come from the shift toward private and plan revenue rather than from fee increases alone.
- The central function is already built and its cost is in the numbers, so an acquirer is not buying a group that still needs one.
- Clinician retention above six years materially reduces post completion risk.
04 The owner's position
Stated in advance, in writing
| Question | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Is the business for sale? | No |
| Would they transact at the right figure? | Yes, confirmed in writing |
| Reserve figure | Set, disclosed under NDA |
| Preferred structure | 60% to 100% of equity |
| Rollover appetite | Open to a meaningful rollover |
| Post-completion involvement | 6 to 12 months, clinical only |
| Management team | Central team expected to remain |
| Represented elsewhere? | No adviser, no other process |
What a reserve figure is
A reserve, as at auction. Before a mandate goes live, the owner completes a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and commits, in writing, to the figure at which they will engage seriously. It is private and it is never published. Nothing below it is ever put in front of them, so no acquirer is invited into a conversation that was never going to happen, and the owner is never asked to decline a low offer.
The reserve is disclosed to verified acquirers at non-disclosure agreement stage. It is a threshold for engagement. It is not an asking price and it is not a cap.
I built the central team so the group would run without me. It does now. That is the only reason I am willing to have this conversation at all.
05 Transaction process
The four gates
01
Acquirer verification.
Funding position, sector experience, prior completions and decision-making authority are confirmed by DealFlowAgent (DFA) before any company information is released. Unfunded parties and brokers acting without a named principal do not proceed.
No company information released
02
Non-disclosure agreement and financial pack.
A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure, the contract base analysis and the management structure. The company is still not named.
Identity withheld
03
Owner approval and introduction.
We put the acquirer to the owner with a written profile covering their intent, their integration approach and their treatment of teams in previous acquisitions. The owner decides. Only on their written approval is the company named and a meeting arranged.
Owner's written approval required
04
Indicative offer.
Acquirers who meet the reserve are invited to submit an indicative offer. Where more than one qualifies, we run a structured process from that point.
Reserve must be met
06 Which acquirers this suits
A strong fit, and not a fit
A strong fit
- Dental groups and corporates seeking South West and South Wales density
- Private equity platforms building a private-weighted dental group
- Healthcare consolidators with an existing primary care asset
- International acquirers entering UK dental
Not a fit
- Parties without committed funding at the indicative range
- Buyers whose model depends on raising clinician targets
- Acquirers intending to close or merge sites
- Structures weighted heavily to deferred consideration linked to clinician retention the owner cannot control post completion
07 About the Off-Market Register
What this register is
How the register works, and where to start
The Off-Market Register carries companies that are not for sale, at prices their owners have already set. Each owner has completed a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and committed in writing to the figure at which they will engage.
Every acquirer is verified before they see anything, every document released is watermarked to the recipient, and every access is logged. Before a mandate goes live it is tested three ways for de-anonymisation, and all three tests must fail to identify the company.
If you own a business in this sector, start with the free valuation, read the sector valuation guides or speak to us confidentially. If you acquire businesses, request acquirer access.
08 Questions
Answered in full
If the owner is not selling, is this a waste of my time?
The owner has committed a reserve figure in writing and has agreed in advance to meet acquirers who clear it. You are seeing a business before any process exists, without a competitive auction and without six other parties at the table. What you are not getting is a motivated seller, and you should price accordingly.
Why are the figures banded?
Because precise figures identify the company. A turnover to the pound, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to one business. Exact figures are released at non-disclosure agreement stage.
Will I be told the reserve before I commit time?
Yes. The reserve is disclosed at non-disclosure agreement stage, before any meeting and before any diligence.
Can I approach the company directly if I work out who it is?
Acquirers who circumvent the register are removed permanently and the owner is informed.
Who pays DealFlowAgent (DFA)?
The owner, on completion only. There is no charge to acquirers at any stage, and no fee is payable by anyone if a transaction does not complete.
Own a business like this one?
Every mandate on this register began with a ninety-second valuation and a conversation. No retainer, no exclusivity, and your company is never named until you approve a specific introduction in writing.
Request access to Project Sable
Verification takes under a working day. On approval you receive the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis under a non-disclosure agreement. The company is named only with the owner's written approval.
DealFlowAgent (DFA)
Private-weighted dental group across the South West and South Wales
Project Sable is a confidential mandate on the DealFlowAgent (DFA) Off-Market Register. All figures are banded and verified against filed accounts and management information. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. DealFlowAgent is a trading name of BTB Holdings Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
