Medical and Professional · Seller's Guide

How to Sell a Veterinary Clinic or Animal Hospital

Veterinary practices are in high demand from corporate buyers. Here is what drives value and how to sell on your terms.

Why It's Different

What makes selling a veterinary practice different

Veterinary practices have become highly sought after by corporate consolidators, so a strong practice can attract competitive offers from national groups as well as individual vets. Active patients, doctor productivity, and services (surgery, dental, boarding, grooming) drive value.

Real estate and doctor retention are central. Many practices own their building, which is valued separately and often sold or leased to the buyer, and because production depends on the veterinarians, keeping doctors after the sale is key to protecting value.

How It's Valued

What is a veterinary practice worth?

Most buyers value a veterinary practice on a multiple of Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE), your profit plus the owner's salary and the personal expenses run through the business.

Veterinary practices are commonly valued on a multiple of adjusted EBITDA, and strong practices have drawn premium multiples from corporate buyers; smaller practices may trade on SDE. The building, when owned, is valued separately. I coordinate with your CPA and, when the real estate is included, handle that under my DRE license, #02372118.

A broker's job is to rebuild your SDE with the right add-backs so your true earning power, not just the tax-return bottom line, sets the price. Get a free, confidential valuation →

Confidentiality

Selling without your staff or competitors finding out

Selling a veterinary practice works best when no one finds out until the right moment. Employees, competitors, customers, and suppliers learning early is the number-one fear owners have, and for good reason, it can cost you staff and revenue mid-sale. I market every business with a blind profile: a teaser that describes the opportunity, the numbers, and the area only in general terms, and never names your business. Every buyer is screened and signs a non-disclosure agreement before they learn which business is for sale. Your team keeps working, your customers keep coming, and your sale stays private until it closes.

What's your veterinary practice actually worth?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Selling a veterinary practice, answered

Both are options. Corporate consolidators often pay premium prices and may want doctors to stay, while an individual buyer may suit a smaller practice and a cleaner exit. I market confidentially to the buyer type that best fits your goals and value.

If you own the real estate, it is valued separately and can be sold with the practice or kept and leased to the buyer as an investment. That real estate side is handled under my California DRE license, #02372118.

Because production follows the doctors, retention is critical. We structure the deal and transition, sometimes with continued employment or retention terms, so the medical team stays and value is protected.

About Your Broker

Martin Navarro, Business Broker

Martin Navarro is a California business broker, DRE #02372118, and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He is bilingual in English and Spanish and a member of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), ACG Los Angeles (Association for Corporate Growth), and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. Gas stations, car washes, self-storage, and other businesses with real estate are a specialty within his full-service brokerage practice. Martin serves business owners across Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Ventura, and Orange County, and throughout Southern California.

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