Practices failing to sell: Optometry NSW/ACT

The two-hour sinar will be presented by Health Business Sales principal Mr Sean Roffey and chartered accountant Mr Charles Behrens, who both have extensive experience in the sale – and purchase – of optometric practices.Optometry NSW/ACT chief executive officer Mr Andrew McKinnon said Australia was moving into a period where a lot of “Baby Boomer optometrists” – many of which have successful practices – would be looking to retire.“[This] will present some incredible opportunities for young optometrists looking to buy into a practice,” he noted.Despite this, in recent years, many practices have come onto the market and failed to sell.Mr McKinnon listed several challenges that could be the cause, including the current “sluggish” retail market, reluctance from younger colleagues to operate their own practices, as well as competition and the resultant uncertainty about how viable an individual practice might be.“Some [practices on the market] do very well, some very poorly,” he said. “Price does not se to be a factor – at least, not the only factor.“We’ve worked with a practice broker for a number of years and in those discussions we identified that quite a few sellers could make changes which would enhance their sales prospects.“What we hope the sinar will do is to give sellers a clear idea of the things they need to do in order to prepare their practice for sale and how to go about it.”Mr Roffey said many practice owners failed to prepare their business financially prior to sale.“Some have weird and wonderful taxation structures which make it difficult for buyers to understand the maintainable profit,” he explained. “Security of tenure is probably the biggest issue and relates to the security of lease. If there is no lease going forward, the value of the practice can be severely diminished.”He added that the physical presentation of the practice was just as important as selling a home, and advised practice owners to understand their business value before entering the market.In addition to exploring these areas in more detail, Messrs Roffey and Behrens will discuss topics including: why due diligence is important, how agents and agencies can assist in the selling process, understanding the market, what buyers need to consider the purchase, and succession planning.The sinar will be held on 16 August in Burwood, Sydney.