Scots dental group Clyde Munro snaps up 75th practice and braces for further growth

Scottish dental group Clyde Munro has continued its fast-paced acquisition strategy by snapping up its 75th practice, saying it consequently now has around one in nine people living north of the Border on its books.

The firm has bought Tryst Dental in Stenhousemuir, adding that as a result it is responsible for the oral health of more than 600,000 patients, has 200 dentists and 550 other staff, and has shaken hands on more practices expected to join its network in the coming months.

Lesley Donaldson, principal dentist at Tryst Dental, is handing over ownership of her practice, which has served the area since the early 1980s, for family reasons. She said: “It’s been a difficult decision to sell the practice as we’ve trained up a brilliant young team and I am proud and thankful to them for everything that we have achieved.

Staff at Tryst Dental in Stenhousemuir, including principal dentist Lesley Donaldson, second right. Picture: Ian Georgeson.

“This was a difficult decision and not in our plans until recently. We’re looking to progress existing plans to create a fourth surgery and Clyde Munro will invest in the practice and our team so that they can provide the best possible patient experience.”

Kirsty Dace, chief development officer at Clyde Munro, which says it is the largest exclusively Scottish firm of its kind, said: “This is a prime example of an incredibly well-run practice that plays an important part within the local community.”

The deal furthers Clyde Munro’s ambition to become Scotland’s “local dentist”, and it says it has been buying practices in Scotland at a rate of three per month, fuelled by a £25 million financing package secured earlier this year from banking and wealth-management firm Investec.

Clyde Munro founder and chief executive Jim Hall said regarding the firm’s acquisition strategy: “We don’t have any intention of slowing up now. It’s a challenging time and the sector is tackling major, well-publicised issues, recovering from the pandemic and countering an unprecedented shortage of dentists, especially in rural areas.

"We’re at a scale where we can now tackle these issues head-on – and we hope to play an increasingly prominent role in improving dental health outcomes for all in Scotland.”

The firm in August announced that it had created an in-house recruitment team, and swallowed Colinton Dental and Riccarton Dental practices in Edinburgh, for example.