If you own a veterinary practice, there has probably been a moment when you wondered what your clinic is actually worth. Maybe it was after a long day. Maybe it was while reviewing your revenue goals. Or maybe it was when a buyer reached out. Either way, this is usually the first question owners ask when they start thinking about their next chapter.
But the truth is, there is no fixed answer. And that is where most people get stuck.
This blog walks you through how buyers actually think in 2025. You will get a clear look at real benchmarks, how first-time sellers usually guess wrong, and what real vets are sharing on forums about vet practice valuation.
There Is No Flat Price Tag
You will not get a reliable number just by plugging revenue into a formula. Two clinics earning the same amount can sell for very different prices. That is because buyers are not just paying for your gross. They are trying to buy a business that will keep running after you step out. A practice where the systems work, the team stays, and the numbers hold up.
Here is what they are really trying to figure out:
- Is the practice consistently profitable?
- Is the owner still doing most of the work?
- Will the staff stick around after the deal?
- Are the financials clean and easy to verify?
- Is there still upside for the next owner?
When buyers start answering those questions, the real value starts to emerge. And it often has very little to do with how fancy the clinic looks or what equipment you have.
What Buyers Are Paying in 2025
Here is what we are seeing in the real world right now.
- Most solo or two-doctor clinics are valued at three to five times EBITDA if they are stable and show good year-over-year profit.
- Multi-doctor practices that run without the owner in every exam room can reach six to seven times EBITDA. That is especially true if their team has been in place for years and the books are clean.
- If a buyer is using revenue percentages, which happens in earlier stages, most clinics fall between sixty-five and eighty-five percent of last year’s gross. But that number will shift up or down once they see what is behind it.
- Corporate buyers are still active but more selective. If your practice looks like a real business and not just a doctor with support staff, you will be in a better position.
In a Reddit thread on r/veterinaryprofession, one buyer shared that their five million dollar clinic was valued at ten to fifteen million. But they only expected twenty-five percent of that as cash up front. The rest was tied to earnouts and future performance.
Buyers are not throwing out high numbers without structure anymore. They want clean deals that reflect real business performance.
Where Most Sellers Guess Wrong
There are two types of owners. Some assume their clinic is worth way more than it is. Others assume it is worth almost nothing. Both are wrong.
If you built something profitable with a steady team, even if it is small, that is valuable. If you are the only doctor, do everything yourself, and have no systems in place, that creates risk for the next owner. That does not mean it is worthless, but it does mean the buyer will build that risk into their offer.
The most common mistake is valuing the business based on how hard it feels to run. Owners think, “I work so hard. This has to be worth a lot.” But buyers are not buying your burnout. They are buying what happens when you step away.
Common Deal Structures in 2025
Most sales today are not just cash at close. Buyers are spreading out payments because they want to see performance.
Here is how it typically breaks down:
- Around twenty to forty percent upfront
- Another twenty to thirty percent paid over time based on performance
- Some deals include bonuses tied to staff retention, associate production, or client volume
So even if your valuation comes in high, what you walk away with depends on how the deal is structured. And that is another reason you need to know your numbers and have a team that can deliver after you exit.
What Affects Your Value the Most
Let us be clear. The number buyers care about the most is profit. Not gross. Not square footage. Not how long you have been open. They want to see a clean, steady, growing bottom line.
But profit alone is not enough. Here is what else moves your valuation up.
- You are not the only one doing the work. If your associates produce and your team is trained, that reduces risk.
- Your books are clean. If a buyer can go through your P&L and trust the numbers, that saves time and builds confidence.
- Your team stays. If people have been there for years and plan to stay, that gives the buyer continuity.
- You have room to grow. A clinic that is booked solid but can add hours or services is more attractive.
These are the levers buyers look at. And they show up in the price — whether you like it or not.
Why You Should Value Even if You Are Not Selling Yet
A lot of owners wait too long. They do not get a valuation until they are already tired, already burnt out, or already thinking about walking away. But the best time to get your practice valued is before any of that starts.
You get to see what buyers would look at. You get to fix things while you still can. And you start to see your practice not just as your job but as an asset — one that could give you options.
Even if you do not sell for another five years, knowing what your clinic is worth today gives you a clear baseline to grow from.
What Real Vets Are Saying
In Student Doctor Network, a vet explained that valuation is not the hard part — running a business someone else actually wants to buy is.
Another thread on r/startups had a comment that said, “I thought the buyer would care about revenue and how busy we were. But they were more interested in whether I had SOPs and a manager who could run the place without me.”
These are the things that are not in your profit and loss statement. But they show up when the buyer starts asking questions.
What to Do Next
If you are serious about understanding what your clinic is worth, start with a real valuation. Not a guess. Not a back-of-the-napkin estimate. A professional who knows the veterinary industry will look at your books, your team, your structure, and what similar clinics are selling for right now.
You do not need to commit to selling. But you do need to stop guessing.