Two brothers are keeping it in the family after purchasing an established Hamilton-based dental surgery with significant funding support from Barclays.
Paul and Martin Allan have purchased the long-established Borland & Morton surgery from its retiring founding partners, after receiving a £745,000 funding package from Barclays. The new owners plan to increase the business from four to five surgeries and widen the range of treatments available, with a particular focus on cosmetic dentistry.
Martin Allan has been a member of the team at Borland & Morton since 2011, and will now be joined in the business by his brother and fellow dentist, Paul. The new owners will grow the team to five dentists and also intend on taking on a new trainee within the next year, increasing the number of patients it can take on.
Barclays has seen the number and value of loans to the UK dentistry industry almost double in the last two years, as dentists evolve to expand premises and invest in new technology to keep up with consumer demand. The package provided to Borland & Morton includes a £674,000 commercial mortgage, £56,000 loan for investing in new equipment, and an optional £15,000 overdraft facility.
The support from Barclays will also enable the business to invest further in innovative technologies and treatment, including a camera which allows a 3D model of the teeth to be created. The surgery will also be able to provide patients with crowns in one day, rather than the traditional waiting time of around two weeks.
Paul Allan, co-owner of Borland & Martin, said: “It is a proud moment for us to be taking ownership of our own surgery and we’re grateful to Barclays for the support and expertise provided to make it happen.
“Borland & Morton is an established and respected surgery in the local area and we are looking forward to further enhancing the offering it provides and realising our ambitions for the business.”
Tom Every, Business Manager at Barclays, said: “We are pleased to assist the new owners in taking over an established business and helping them to put in place plans and goals for continued growth and success.
“Dentistry is a sector which is performing well, with an increase in demand for cosmetic treatments helping to drive that growth, and Barclays is well positioned to help businesses capitalise on that.”
In a Barclays survey of dentists last month, over a fifth said they were considering taking out a loan in the next two years, with the most common reason being a desire to start a new practice (45 per cent), followed by wanting to buy more machinery or equipment (30 per cent).
