Mixed Practices (Multi-Disciplinary Practices)

As time has progressed, practices have evolved and the work undertaken in respect of each species has become more developed and refined, with clinical standards improving all the while.

The result of this is that mixed practices today are, in reality, multiple businesses running under one roof and sometimes as multiple businesses under common ownership.

Historically, the view was that when one sector was down, the other would be up and, therefore, the different areas of the practice supported each other through bad times.

The landscape is now significantly different to what it was. Within mixed practices, each of the species work types need to be considered, if nothing else, as a standalone cost centre or, far more common these days, a separate business within an individual group.

From benchmarking data, we know that each of the species work types can generate roughly the same level of net profit, but each gets there in a very different way.

When working with mixed practices, it is crucial to understand the desires of the owners, such that whatever advice is given embodies those wishes.

We are seeing succession planning within mixed practices as being far more challenging, primarily due to the size of those practices. Unlike other advisers, we believe and know that for those where there is a will to remain independent there are potential answers to this conundrum other than “sell the practice” although that does not mean that effective succession planning within a larger practice is not a challenge.