UK dental market in motion again

The UK dental business sector is entering a new era of opportunity, according to Christie & Co’s Dental Market Review 2025. After a period of recalibration and operational headwinds, 2025 marks the resurgence of corporate and group buyers, a renewed appetite for quality assets, and a maturing market where buy and build strategies are poised to drive the next wave of growth. 

Market dynamics

The past 18 months saw corporates and private equity-backed groups step back, focusing on internal optimisation and portfolio refinement. Independents and emerging groups seized the opportunity, acquiring high-quality practices and demonstrating the sector’s resilience. Now, with stabilising interest rates and improved access to finance, larger groups are returning to acquisitive strategies - but with a sharper focus on quality, operational strength, and clinical excellence.

Consolidation remains a key theme. As the Christie & Co review highlights, “corporates continue to optimise their estates through strategic acquisitions, divestment programmes or site consolidation. Part of this includes seeing larger groups consolidate into ‘super hubs’ to increase operational efficiencies”. This means that despite fewer locations, dental activity is holding for both NHS and private practice.

The trend for corporate activity has continued in 2025, with independents and first-time buyers leading the way. Christie & Co report that the “sentiment in the early part of 2025 is positive for the re-entrance of consolidators into the active buyer pool”.

A notable theme in dental M&A is the rise of deferred consideration as a structuring tool. Deferred consideration allows buyers to manage risk and align incentives post-acquisition, particularly in deals involving larger, revenue-rich practices. Typically, terms include a significant proportion of deferred value linked to revenue, performance-based earn-outs, and multi-year tie-ins. This reflects a strong emphasis on post-sale continuity and growth, which is critical in patient-centric service models. Christie & Co’s data reveals that “deferred consideration is no longer a niche structuring tool; it’s a mainstream feature of dental M&A, especially in higher-value, private-led transactions”. For sellers, deferred consideration offers a path to maximise value while demonstrating confidence in future performance. For buyers - especially dental operators and investors - this provides a risk-mitigation tool and a way to align post-acquisition incentives.

Buy and build – the best of both for dental market growth

With corporate dental operators signalling a renewed interest in acquisitive growth, adopting a clear buy and build strategy will be key – from investing in a strong leadership and acquisition team, to developing a clear strategy, robust due diligence process and a focus on integration planning. Adopting some of these steps will ensure that your buy and build strategies are as comprehensive as possible.

Strategic clarity

Clear vision is critical – whether building a regional platform, targeting specific patient demographics, or expanding service lines. The Christie & Co review echoes this, noting that “many larger groups spent much of 2023 and 2024 refining their portfolios and operating models and are now expected to return to acquisitive strategies, but in a more targeted, strategic fashion”. Dental operators and investors should define their platform strategy early, ensuring every acquisition fits their long-term vision.

Conduct due diligence and focus on integration

Successful buy and build is underpinned by rigorous due diligence - not just financial, but operational and cultural. A focus on integration planning should start before the deal completes, ensuring that systems, processes, and people are aligned from day one. In dental, this means assessing clinical and regulatory governance, team stability, and local reputation - factors increasingly valued by buyers. Operators and investors must prioritise integration to realise synergies and maintain quality.

Government plans: Market impact

The government’s 10-year vision for NHS dentistry, published in July 2025, sets out a bold ambition to build a dental system that is transparent, accessible, and fit for the future. Key pillars include a new dental contract designed to improve access, rewarding prevention, and empowering the dental workforce. Immediate actions include delivering 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments and requiring newly qualified dentists to work in the NHS for at least three years. Changes to immigration rules will affect the availability of dental nurses and therapists, potentially increasing wage pressures.

“For dental operators and investors, these reforms introduce market uncertainty”, says Christie & Co. While the NHS graduate tie-in may provide temporary relief to workforce shortages, it falls short of addressing the deeper, systemic issues undermining confidence in NHS-led dentistry. Buyers continue to approach practices with significant NHS income cautiously, paying even closer attention to those failing to meet their KPIs. Without meaningful reform of the NHS contract and clearer guidance on future funding, appetite for acquiring NHS-dominated practices is likely to remain limited. In contrast, interest in private or mixed practices is growing, as clinicians perceive these to offer greater autonomy, stability, and financial sustainability. Ultimately, the NHS 10-year plan may simply reflect an ongoing shift away from NHS-led practice.

Looking ahead

As the sector enters a new phase of growth, it’s likely we’ll see investors and operators adopt platform bolt-on strategies and developing squat practices to accelerate growth and build market share. Christie & Co’s data finds a “progressive tilt toward private and mixed (private) acquisitions across all buyer types,” reflecting both structural pressures on NHS dentistry and further confidence in private models.

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues discussed here, please contact Natalie Wade.