PARTNERSHIP NEGOTIATIONS

Buying into or forming a "partnership" is a major decision in the career of any dentist. It involves the establishment of a new working relationship, changed responsibilities, a different remuneration structure and decisions about loan capital.

Practice Financial Management Limited could assist you to get it right the first time by:

Setting A Fair Price
All the parties must be satisfied that a fair price is being paid for the Partnership/Principal share. Reaching an agreement is best served by the commissioning of a Valuation report.

Practice Financial Management Limited's Valuation reports can be instructed by the vendor, purchaser or both to consider the viability of the practice, and how it will work under the new arrangements.

Establishing a Working Arrangement
Whilst many dentists view themselves to be in Partnership, they are in fact Co-Principals, effectively running separate businesses, utilising some common resources and sharing joint running costs - "Expense Sharing". Practice Financial Management Limited offers advice to new or established ‘partnerships’ how to construct appropriate agreements to meet their individual circumstances and requirements.

At the same time as the valuation report we strongly recommend that we prepare a ‘Partnership Discussion Document’ to forecast the financial implications and to make recommendations for the structure of the agreement.

Expense Sharing
It is generally more agreeable to dentists to earn in ratio to the gross fees they produce individually, rather than to take a share of the whole profits. Whilst this can be achieved under a true Partnership agreement, it is more commonly arranged through separate businesses, working under a Co-Principal arrangement.

This arrangement treats dentists as individual Principals of their own practices within common premises and using certain shared facilities.

This operates by the joint expenses being paid centrally by all the Co-Principals from a Joint Expense-Sharing Account. These expenses that are to be paid jointly and those that are to be paid individually, are determined at the outset of the agreement and then committed to in writing in an expense-sharing agreement. Practice Financial Management Limited could assist you to determine an appropriate split of expenses to suit you and your practice.

Finance & Insurance
We provide specialist advice for the negotiation of the loan finance for the incoming partners as well as advice about appropriate partnership insurance cover.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other loan secured on it.

The Financial Services Authority does not regulate business management advice, unsecured finance and some aspects of secured finance.