Questions about selling your GP practice
Short answers for GP practice owners weighing a sale. Each answer links to more detail and to the next step on Proxeno. Proxeno is an initiative of Medius Global, which publishes most of the detailed answers.
Readiness and timing
Is my GP practice ready to sell?
The practice is ready when you can hand over signed GP agreements that are current, proof that the practice meets its payroll tax obligations, a lease with three to five years or more to go and clear assignment rights, two or preferably three years of lodged returns, a normalised EBITDA statement with each add-back supported, and documented trends in billings, staff costs and EBITDA. The free sale readiness check is for a practice in shape to sell and scores five areas: finances, compliance and governance, operations, infrastructure and succession.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Next step: Start the sale readiness check
How long does it take to sell a GP practice?
A practice with gaps to close needs 12 to 24 months of preparation, according to Medius Global. A corporate buyer typically settles three to six months after due diligence starts, and an internal succession typically takes 12 to 24 months while the incoming GP arranges finance and the seller hands over in stages.
Read the full answer on preparation Read about buyer types and timelines Next step: Start your business assessment
What documents will a buyer ask for?
A buyer typically asks for lodged tax returns and BAS for the last three years, the normalised EBITDA statement with its workpapers, current signed GP agreements that allow assignment, the lease, AHPRA registrations, WHS policies and the staff training record, payroll tax compliance evidence and any PSR history. The Proxeno intake form covers the seven areas a buyer's adviser works through, including the GP roster, financials, property and agreements.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Next step: See how selling through Proxeno works
Value and buyers
What is my GP practice worth?
Buyers apply a multiple to normalised EBITDA, and the multiple moves with the buyer type and the practice's size and dependence on its owner. The ranges are on the practice value page. Proxeno does not value practices: for a figure on yours, engage your accountant or an independent valuer, because no published range applies reliably to a single practice.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Next step: Start your business assessment
Who buys GP practices in Australia?
Medius Global names three main buyer types: corporate consolidators, including groups backed by private equity; GP groups adding sites; and GPs already in the practice buying out the principal. Proxeno builds each seller's buyer list from the GP Zoo dataset of who owns Australian general practice, in three tiers: groups with sites near you where your practice would fill a gap; corporate groups active in your state at your practice's size; and large nearby independent practices that acquire one practice at a time.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Read how Proxeno builds the buyer list Next step: Register your practice
What is an earn-out, and should I accept one?
Under an earn-out, the buyer pays part of the price only if the practice meets agreed targets such as billings or GP retention, usually over one to five years after settlement, and most corporate deals include one, according to Medius Global. Before accepting one, establish who will control investment, restructuring and the retention of key GPs after settlement: if the buyer underinvests or loses key GPs, you can receive less.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Next step: Record where you stand on earn-outs
Can I sell to a GP already working in my practice?
Selling to an associate or partner GP is internal succession, and Medius Global gives a typical multiple of 2.5 to 3.5 times EBITDA, usually with vendor finance: the seller lends part of the price, with security agreed through a lawyer, and the buyer repays it with interest over two to five years. These sales complete more often when both sides start planning two to three years out and document each step.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Next step: Record the deal structures you would accept
Fees
What does it cost to sell a GP practice?
Published broker rates range from 6% to 12% of the sale price, with minimum fees between $15,000 and $30,000. Proxeno charges a fixed fee, agreed before you sign and the same whatever the practice sells for, and your own accountant, lawyer and any valuer you engage bill you separately.
Read the full answer on the fees page Next step: Register your practice
After settlement
What happens to my staff and patients after I sell?
Proxeno asks each owner to rate staff keeping their jobs and continuity of care, scores buyers registered with Proxeno against the staff and patient criteria you set, and in an assisted sale your consultant checks each offer against the same priorities. Medius Global describes patients transferring gradually to the buyer's replacement GPs during a transition period in which the selling GP keeps consulting.
Read about transition periods on Medius Global Read how matching works Next step: Record your priorities for staff and patients
Do I have to keep working after I sell?
You and the buyer decide that in the sale terms: you can leave at or soon after settlement, or keep consulting for an agreed period. Where your own billings make up a large share of the practice total, Medius Global finds a transition of three to five years is common, and that sellers who commit to stay typically receive more of the price up front, a higher total and lighter earn-out terms than those who leave at settlement.
Read the full answer on Medius Global Next step: Record the sessions you would keep
Register your practice
Tell Proxeno where your practice is and what you are weighing. Registering does not commit you to a sale or an engagement, and it does not list your practice anywhere.
Questions about registration, matching and your information are on the common questions page.