Guiding Growth & Maximising Returns: Strategic Advice for Leaders in the UK Aesthetics Sector
The UK’s clinical aesthetics industry has continued to see a post-Covid boom.
The market is projected to reach £3.6 billion by the end of 2025.
As consumer appetite grows, international groups are moving fast to consolidate the key players.
Our team recently provided strategic advice to several of the UK’s leading aesthetics clinics...
… as they each navigated their acquisition by a leading North American aesthetic clinic group looking to expand its European footprint. With founders selling into a wider group but continuing to run their businesses day-to-day, we helped each founder strike the fine balance between reaching a successful and valuable exit, maintaining ongoing control and maximising the value of their stake in the new wider group. Our role went beyond facilitating these transactions from a legal perspective; we acted as strategic advisors, empowering these founders to achieve their growth ambitions, effectively manage the inherent risks of a sale, and ultimately maximize the long-term value they realised.
Maximising Deal Value
A key focus for our team when advising on any business sale, is to ensure the founders are appropriately rewarded for their hard work and well positioned for future success.
In these acquisitions, where earn-out structures were central, we recognised that no two founders or clinics were the same, each possessing a unique personality, market position, growth trajectory and commercial outlook. Our role was to negotiate terms that reflected the founders’ confidence in the business’ ongoing growth, which included managing any downside risk appropriately and pushing for more ambitious upside scenarios.
We also advised on the mix of rollover equity vs upfront cash on day one, helping the owners weigh up the benefit of continued ownership in the larger group versus a clean exit. This strategic approach transformed the transaction for our clients, from a simple sale into a launchpad for their next phase of growth and value creation under a new banner.
Managing the Deal Risk - Protecting Founders and Future Relationships
Restrictive covenants are commonplace in sale documentation and are always a pressure point for both sides. Our sellers, like most clinicians in the aesthetics space have multiple professional identities: medical professionals, educators, influencers etc. We understood the critical importance of protecting our clients’ livelihoods and personal brands. Given that the aesthetics industry is often built on the personal reputations and diverse activities of its practitioners our job in these transactions was to strike a practical balance whilst protecting our clients’ livelihoods and personal brands.
We worked in partnership with each founder and their team, gaining a deeper understanding of their broader business activities, from training academies to exclusive relationships with high profile clients. This detailed insight allowed us to carve out bespoke exclusions within the sale agreements to ensure that they could continue that work post sale. Simultaneously, we engaged in commercial negotiations with the buyer to preserve protections around core business areas.
This strategic risk management not only secured our clients’ ongoing professional pursuits but also fostered a foundation for positive and productive working relationships following the deal’s completion, offering the buyer commercial security while enabling the sellers’ continued contributions and expertise.
Creating Further Opportunities
Selling a business in a dynamic sector like aesthetics rarely offers a clean break, especially for those with complex ownership structures, involving minority shareholders or legacy co-founders. Several of the leading clinic groups we advised had intricate ownership structures, often encompassing minority shareholders or long-standing co-founders. In these instances, our support extended to guiding the lead clinicians through internal buyouts or pricing disputes as crucial preliminary steps, before the main deal could move forward.
These situations are not uncommon, especially in industries built on personal relationships and strong reputations. Our focus was on creating clear, commercial pathways to resolution: aligning parties on price, negotiating equitable exit terms for minority shareholders, and managing any potential knock-on impact on deal timelines and buyer confidence.
Recognising the value inherent in their expertise and brands, we also advised our clients on retaining key intellectual property, ensuring that they could continue to innovate or build separate IP-led ventures post-completion. By anticipating these touchpoints early and integrating them into the wider deal strategy, we transformed potential deal breakers into mutually agreeable solutions, empowering our founders to walk away with confidence.
Your Strategic Partner in the Evolving Aesthetics Landscape
The aesthetics space is evolving fast, and so are the deals. Whether you’re considering a sale to capitalise on current valuations or seeking expert advice for scaling your business, our team provides the strategic insight and hands-on support you need to achieve your objectives, regardless of sector. Don’t navigate this complex landscape alone. Contact Jonathan Williamson today to discuss how we can use our vast practical experience to help you realise the full potential of your business.
Our own story is one of entrepreneurialism, ambition and ultimately growth. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses on the same path. Our experts utilise their experience to support your growth plans. From investment to international expansion, acquisitions to re-structures, our team will find the most suitable solution for your business helping you achieve sustainable growth whilst managing the priorities and interests of everyone.