Scotland’s largest dental group swallows Edinburgh practices with 13,000 patients

Scotland’s largest dental group now has 70 practices following an Edinburgh acquisition.

Clyde Munro has struck a deal with married dentists, Duncan Sandland and Suzanne Seaton, to acquire their Colinton Dental and Riccarton Dental practices after nearly two decades in charge.

The Glasgow-headquartered group will take the reins of running the business and the administration involved in caring for more than 13,000 patients. Both dentists will continue to work at the capital practices.

Sandland said: “We have been filtering into our new roles this past month, and solely focusing on what we love doing, being dentists.

“It has been no secret that the pandemic has induced a lot of stress on the dental sector, and Brexit has made recruitment difficult 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.”

The latest acquisition comes after Clyde Munro last month announced it had exceeded 500,000 patients under its care. It now has 70 practices, more than 200 dentists and 500 members of staff.

Having launched in 2015 with just seven practices, one in 11 Scots is now a patient within the group’s network.

Kirsty Dace, chief development officer at Clyde Munro, said: “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.

Dentists Suzanne Seaton and Duncan Sandland have struck a deal for their Colinton Dental and Riccarton Dental practices. Picture: Ian Georgeson

“We want to see independent practices thrive with little impact on the front-of-house operations when they join the group, and both Colinton Dental and Riccarton Dental are no exceptions.

“We look forward to a productive relationship with Duncan, Suzanne and everyone involved at the practices.”

Last week it emerged that Clyde Munro had formed a dedicated in-house recruitment team to help support the rapidly growing business.

Jo Hood and Karen Diamond join the company, bringing a combined 35 years’ experience in specialist recruitment and an in-depth knowledge of the healthcare sector. The pair will look to build networks throughout the UK and target Europe and beyond to source dentists.

Clyde Munro has also made “significant” digital investment in the business.