Clyde Munro acquires two Edinburgh practices
Two Edinburgh dental practices join the Clyde Munro network. The dental group has struck a deal with married dentist couple, Duncan Sandland and Suzanne Seaton (below) to acquire their Colinton Dental and Riccarton Dental practices after their 16 years as clinicians/principals.
A spokesperson for the Glasgow-based firm explained: “Clyde Munro will take the reins of running the business and the administration involved in caring for more than 13,000 patients; while Duncan and Suzanne, both 52, will continue to work at the practices and concentrate on what they love doing most, looking after patients.
“Patients are coming from as far as Kingussie to the Colinton practice, and the Riccarton site caters for a large cohort of students and staff from Heriot Watt University. Duncan, Suzanne and their 11 staff have reassured patients that both practices will continue to run as normal.”
Duncan said: “We have been filtering into our new roles over this past month, and solely focusing on what we love doing, being dentists. It has brought Suzanne and I great joy.
“It has been no secret that the pandemic has induced a lot of stress on the dental sector, and Brexit has created difficulties in finding qualified workers. Everyone at both practices has worked hard to pull through, and it felt like this was the next natural step for the business. We have also had good feedback from colleagues who had opted to go with Clyde Munro.”
Duncan joined the Colinton Dental Practice in 1994 as an associate, and was followed by his wife Suzanne in 2003. In 2006, Duncan and Suzanne decided to buy the practice from founders Robbie Richards and Tom Wishart. From there the pair took on the Riccarton Dental Practice which, under their stewardship, has grown from one part-time surgery to three full-time surgeries – culminating in a move to a new premises.
Duncan and Suzanne believe patients will “see improvements on the high levels of service they currently receive”. Duncan continued: “We expect there to be very little change in the way the business is run day-to-day. Clyde Munro is likely to improve the business functions and systems to make life easier for the staff.
“In fact, it should improve the business as a whole. There are a lot of benefits for dentists in being part of a group, and I also think it will create a better environment for patients.”
Last month (July 2022) Clyde Munro announced it has exceeded 500,000 patients. It now has 70 practices, more than 200 dentists and 500 members of staff. Having launched in 2015 with just seven practices, approximately one in 11 Scots are now patients within its network.
Kirsty Dace, Chief Development Officer at Clyde Munro, added: “Duncan and Suzanne have been tremendously easy to work with and we are delighted that they are staying to focus on their passion for dentistry.
“When they join the group, we want to see independent practices thrive with little impact on front of house operations, and both Colinton Dental Practice and Riccarton Dental Practice are no exceptions. We look forward to a productive relationship with Duncan, Suzanne and the teams.”
Image caption: (top) the Colinton Dental Practice team
