{my}dentist

Business at time of investment

Palamon acquired Associated Dental Practices for £136 million in 2009. At the time of investment, it was the third largest dental operator in the UK, with 120 practices serving around 1.5 million patients a year, delivering dentistry services primarily commissioned and funded by the National Health Service (“NHS”).

Investment rationale

The UK NHS dental market was worth approximately £2.5 billion and demonstrated stable annual growth rates of 3-5%, but was highly fragmented, with only 5% of the 11,000 practices owned by corporates.  ADP, as one of the only sizable players, was identified as an ideal platform with which to drive the consolidation of the market.

Value creation

• M&A: At the end of 2010 Palamon partnered with The Carlyle Group to acquire competitor IDH.  In 2011 ADP and IDH were merged to form the largest dental corporate in the UK.
• Diversified the business model: Built leading market position in the supply of consumables and equipment repair to UK dental practices through the acquisitions of dental buying group (2013) and Dental Directory (2014).
• Strengthened management team: Installed a new CEO and CFO with strong sector experience and appointed a new non-executive Chairman.
• Repositioned the practice network: Transitioned to the {my}dentist brand in 2015.
• Executed £400m HYB issuance: Completed in 2014 enabling the Company to refinance all senior debt facilities and provide capacity for acquisitions.
• Completed £515m refinancing in July 2016.

Today

{my}dentist is by far the largest dental corporate in the UK, with over 650 practices nationwide and serving more than 5 million patients per year.