Financial challenges

The interest rates for practice financing have remained stable for the last couple of years, and the margins are starting to come down. This is after remaining at ultra-low levels since the financial crisis of 2008-9. The Bank of England's base interest rate is expected to rise during 2011, meaning that dentists looking to set up their own private practice may be well advised to consider fixed-rate deals on their financing to ensure greater stability.

The prospect of a rise in rates is just one of the unknowns that dentists who make the decision to go private face. Naturally, the financial expertise of most dental professionals is not in the same league as their medical knowledge; the intricacies of issues such as practice finance can be mystifying to many dental professionals, making the assistance of independent financial advisers (IFAs) necessary.

Increasing interest rates mean that dentists would be well advised to take even greater care with assessing the viability of their proposed practice as an investment. The historic performance of a business should be a matter of careful study for those wishing to join an existing practice as an associate or buy in as a partner; a precise and detailed overview means that they can ascertain the value of their financial investment.