Buying a veterinary practice in Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida has 30 established veterinary practices by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 60% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Veterinary practices in Southwest Florida come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $178,000 a year
- Price about
- $551,000
- Your cash
- $77,000
- Could pay you
- up to $78,000 a year
- Earns about
- $254,000 a year
- Price about
- $788,000
- Your cash
- $110,000
- Could pay you
- up to $112,000 a year
- Earns about
- $354,000 a year
- Price about
- $1.1 million
- Your cash
- $154,000
- Could pay you
- up to $156,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 3.1 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 12 |
| 20 to 29 years | 9 |
| 30 to 39 years | 4 |
| 40 years or more | 5 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 12 |
| $1M to $2M | 9 |
| $2M to $4M | 1 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Lee | 10 |
| Sarasota | 9 |
| Manatee | 5 |
| Other counties | 6 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Fort Myers | 5 |
| Sarasota | 5 |
What the best veterinary practices have in common
- More than one veterinarian, so revenue doesn't depend on the owner's own appointment book.
- A growing number of active clients (those seen in the last year or so), with reminders that bring them back.
- A full schedule of dental and preventive work, not only sick visits.
- Equipment that's current and maintained: digital x-ray, in-house bloodwork, dental x-ray, anesthesia monitoring.
- Fees reviewed every year, and every service actually charged for. Missed charges are common in busy practices.
- Technicians who stay, and a practice manager who runs the front desk and inventory.
- A lease or building with room for another exam room.
- A good working relationship with the nearest emergency hospital for after-hours referrals.
What to check before you buy
- Doctor dependence. Look at how much revenue each veterinarian produces. If the seller produces most of it, the practice's value depends on a long handover and on hiring another veterinarian, which can take a long time.
- The permit record. Look up the premises permit and any discipline on DBPR's license search, and ask for the last inspection report.
- Associate agreements. Read the other veterinarians' employment contracts, pay formulas and any noncompete terms.
- Controlled drug records. Logs, inventories and storage should be in order before you take over.
- Medical records. Complete records back up the client list you're paying for.
- Equipment. Note its age, service contracts and any equipment leases you'd take over.
- Pharmacy and food sales. Online pharmacies have pulled this revenue from many practices, so check the trend.
- Local competition. Practices owned by large groups may be nearby and hiring from the same pool of veterinarians and technicians.
- The seasons. In some areas, clients leave for the summer with their pets.
Questions to ask the owner
- How many active clients do you have, and how do you count them?
- How much of the practice's revenue comes from your own appointments, and how long would you stay to introduce clients to the other doctors?
- Do your associates have contracts, and is anyone planning to leave or hoping to buy in?
- Which equipment is owned and which is leased, and what will need replacing soon?
- How do you handle emergencies and after-hours calls?
- How have pharmacy and food sales changed over the last few years?
- When did you last raise fees, and how did clients respond?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a veterinary practice in Florida.
Owning a company in Southwest Florida
The local economy
This region covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast and Hendry, Glades and DeSoto inland: Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, LaBelle, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Arcadia. The coastal economy runs on people who choose to live or spend the winter here: retirees, seasonal residents, and the construction, real estate, health care, financial and home services that follow them. Tourism, golf and boating add to it.
Inland, the economy is agricultural: sugarcane around Clewiston, citrus, cattle and vegetables, with Immokalee in Collier County a center for farm work. The building trades, pool, landscaping and pest control companies, property managers, medical and dental practices, and marine businesses tend to do well along the coast.
What's different about owning a company here
This is one of Florida's most seasonal markets. From roughly January through April, restaurants, shops and service companies run at full speed. Summers are slower, so look at monthly revenue, not only the yearly total. The coast has taken two major hurricanes in recent years: Ian came ashore at Cayo Costa in Lee County in September 2022, and Milton at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in October 2024. Rebuilding brought a wave of work for contractors that won't last forever, so ask how much recent revenue came from storm repairs. Insurance costs and flood zones weigh on every property.
Housing costs near the coast make hiring hard, especially around Naples. New communities east of Interstate 75 in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Manatee keep service companies busy.