Retirement, Succession, or Closure: What Happens to a Veterinary Practice After You Leave?

Hi, my name is Bob Simpson and I have been helping veterinarians with their equipment needs for over 45 years. I recognized early on that veterinarians are a special group of people that care deeply for animals and have a desire to help their human companions care for them. Over my lifetime, I have had many fur babies make their way deep into my heart but, I have to admit, I have a very special, soft spot for my feline companions. Although, my wife’s little Yorkie stole my heart for a season. I have been so grateful to the veterinarians that have helped us to keep them healthy longer and also, known when to help us manage their passing.

I have watched and participated in the joy of creating a veterinary practice from nothing. I must admit, it’s also a very stressful time, but so meaningful when it all comes together and they get to name and open their practices. Some instead, decide on expanding or building out an existing practice. Either way, it’s such a privilege to have been able to help hundreds and hundreds veterinarians establish and open clinics by supplying equipment and sharing my knowledge with them. The joy the veterinarian experiences doesn’t come from the bricks and mortar part, it comes when the first patient comes through the door and they can help it live a long and healthy life. This passion helps to foster meaningful relationships not only with the patients but with their owners as well. However, we all age, and eventually have to sell a working practice to another passionate veterinarian or sadly someday close the door and end that chapter.

When a veterinarian reaches this phase in their lives, there are several options available to them. By far, the best option is finding another dedicated veterinarian who will take over the the practice and the existing owner will mentor them through the process and help to foster the existing relationships with patients and owners, and the practice continues to thrive for many more years.

Another option is finding a corporate purchaser to take over the practice, and the veterinarian may stay in the practice for four or five more years and then retire or do some part-time work in another clinic. I have discovered that no matter how long veterinarians practice, the urge to help animals never goes away. It seems once a veterinarian, always a veterinarian.

The world of veterinary medicine has changed since I started in this industry. The common practice 25 to 30 years ago was there was always a new veterinarian to take over an existing practice. For various reasons, this is no longer the norm. Corporate and private veterinarians are building shiny new practices across the street instead of continuing the legacy of an existing one. It used to be that goodwill was one of the most valuable portions of a veterinary practice. However, there is a different generation of veterinary professionals who don’t see this as a shared value. If they do, they don’t put a price on it. They would rather open their own practice and create their own goodwill.

If there is no one to sell the practice to, then the final option is hanging up your shingle, selling the real estate and finding buyers for the equipment in the practice. Selling the real estate is usually a simple phone call to an agent, but selling the equipment is a bigger challenge. What I have realized is veterinarians usually don’t know how to deal directly with other veterinarians with regards to equipment assets in a practice. Often, they struggle with the valuation of the equipment. That was the reason I started V.E.E.N. (Veterinary Equipment Exchange Network). I kept getting phone calls from veterinarians trying to figure out what to do with equipment they weren’t using anymore or when they were closing their practice. About 15 years ago, I decided to start a network in Canada for veterinarians to be able to sell their equipment to other veterinarians and I would broker the transaction. It was so successful in Canada that I decided to expand it to the United States as well.

The concept is quite simple. The veterinary equipment, or an entire practice full of equipment, is listed on our website and then another veterinarian looking for the same piece of equipment contacts us and we facilitate the sale. It can be an individual item or an entire clinic full of equipment. We charge a commission for the service and we make the hassle of selling equipment simple,

When I started V.E.E.N. (Veterinary Equipment Exchange Network), I didn’t anticipate veterinarians wanting me to make an offer and write a check for all the equipment in the practice. Surprisingly enough, this has become quite common. Sometimes, sadly enough, closing a practice can be rather urgent because of a serious health issue or the death of owner. Very rarely, but it can happen, veterinary practices go bankrupt from bad management or unfortunately, just from bad decisions. Either way, I can purchase the assets and have the ability to dismantle entire practices and to remove the equipment.

V.E.E.N. (Veterinary Equipment Exchange Network) offers a number of flexible solutions to liquidate a veterinary practice. The most important thing the veterinarian should do is plan in advance. I can’t tell you the number of phone calls I receive where a veterinarian tells me that their practice has been for sale for several years; and it is a single person practice and they don’t have a buyer, and, now they want to close at the end of the month. Often times, this veterinary clinic is on the other side of the country. I struggle to understand, how a veterinary practice can operate for 20, 30 or 40 years and then give me a week or two notice that they’re closing and they need the equipment out by the end of the month. It’s not that it isn’t possible, but the funds generated from the sale of equipment are going to be dramatically lower than planning the closure several months in advance. When this process is undertaken, the assets can be liquidated from the location. In my discussions with the veterinarians who have made this planned decision, we generally start liquidating several months before the practice ever closes. The equipment is advertised as being available on a certain date, which is the projected closing date of the practice. Usually, the majority of the equipment is already sold by written agreements with veterinarians in advance of the closure, and then when the practice closes, the equipment is transferred to it’s new home. Larger items are picked up by buyers and smaller items are shipped and our staff arranges for all of the shipping and payment details. We then can transition the agreement on any remaining equipment to a direct purchase agreement.

Opening a practice is stressful, but, closing your practice can be even more stressful. There is a natural grieving process that can go on with the owner of the practice; they have built up a legacy that they were hoping to transfer to a new owner and sometimes this legacy does not come forth as expected. However, there is no need to add additional stress by not having a plan to disperse the assets before the end of a lease or selling the real estate.

Give us a call or message us here at V.E.E.N. and we would be honoured to help you plan an exit strategy. We can help with the dispersal of assets and to help keep useful equipment out of landfills. And… to keep more of your money in your pocket to avoid getting pennies on the dollar from a liquidator.