Structuring The Acquisition Of A Dental Practice Through A Sipp

The Client

The owner of a successful private dental practice was looking to refinance the business while implementing a long-term property and pension strategy. The plan involved transferring the practice's freehold into a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), allowing the trading business to lease the premises while retaining ownership of the property within the pension.

The Challenge

The client required approximately £750,000 to refinance and restructure existing borrowing. However, because the freehold was being transferred into a SIPP, the lender could not rely on a legal charge over the property as security. Instead, the funding needed to be supported by the value of the practice's goodwill, trading performance and future affordability, while also complementing the client's wider pension and property planning objectives.

The Solution

We presented the strength of the dental practice to a specialist healthcare lender, highlighting its strong turnover, profitability and established goodwill. By demonstrating that the business generated sufficient income to support the proposed borrowing, we secured a commercial refinance based on the trading business rather than the freehold property. The lending structure incorporated security over the business and leasehold interest, allowing the freehold to transfer into the client's SIPP free from any lending restrictions.

• Loan amount: £750,000

• Purpose: Refinance and restructure existing borrowing

• Facility: Five-year part-amortising loan

• Repayment profile: 15 years

• Interest rate: Bank of England Base Rate plus 1.67%

• Monthly repayment: Approximately £6,157.92

• Arrangement fee: 1.5%, added to the facility

• Estimated balance after five years: £580,462

The Outcome

The client successfully refinanced approximately £750,000 of existing borrowing into a competitively priced commercial facility, improving the overall debt structure while supporting a wider pension planning strategy. The freehold was able to transfer into the SIPP without commercial borrowing secured against it, enabling the client to separate the ownership of the property from the trading business. The result was a more flexible funding structure that reduced pressure on cash flow and aligned the client's commercial finance with their long-term retirement and investment objectives.

Please note: This case study is based on a genuine client scenario. To protect client confidentiality, specific figures, dates and other identifying details have been amended. The circumstances, solution and overall outcome remain accurate.