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Denplan

In 1991 Graphite identified the opportunity to invest in the rapidly growing private dentistry market through the acquisition of Denplan. Dental payment plans were a relatively new concept which made private dentistry more affordable within the UK market place

Denplan operated an independent scheme for providing dental care under which dentists agreed to maintain the teeth of their patients in return for a set monthly fee. The company had early mover advantage and had already built up a good and growing position in the UK market by signing up a large number of dentists offering payment plans to their customers.

With the NHS reviewing the way dentists were paid, many of them were looking for an alternative way to secure payment and provide a quality service to their patients. Denplan offered an innovative payment scheme, benefiting both dentists and patients. Denplan was founded by a dentist, who led a strong management team with substantial experience in dealing with dental practices.

Denplan

KEY BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENTS

Increased the number of participating dentists from 2,750 to 4,900

Grew the number of patients paying through Denplan from 135,500 to 500,000

ncreased turnover fivefold to £53.3 million

Increased pre-tax profit from £0.2 million to £2.7 million

133%

Internal Rate of Return

BUSINESS EXIT

In 1993 Denplan was sold for £42 million to Private Patients Plan (PPP), generating a multiple of 8.0 times cost and an IRR of 135 per cent.