Guide to Selling a Occupational & Hand Therapy Practice in Jacksonville, FL

The market for Occupational and Hand Therapy in Jacksonville presents a significant opportunity for practice owners. With a local boom in rehabilitation services, the timing may be ideal for a profitable exit. However, a successful transition from owner to seller is a complex journey that requires careful planning and a deep understanding of the market. This guide provides a clear roadmap, covering everything from market conditions to valuation, to help you navigate the process with confidence and clarity.

Market Overview

Jacksonville is not just a good market for Occupational and Hand Therapy. It’s a great one. The demand for specialized therapy services is rising, creating a favorable environment for practice owners who are considering their next steps.

A Thriving Local Environment

The local landscape is expanding rapidly. Since the spring of 2022, the Jacksonville area has seen the launch of four new inpatient rehabilitation facilities. This level of investment signals strong confidence in the region’s healthcare sector and directly increases the demand for specialized services like yours. For a seller, this means there is an active and growing pool of potential buyers, from larger hospital systems to private orthopedic groups looking to expand their footprint.

Strong National Tailwinds

This local growth is backed by a powerful national trend. The entire U.S. Occupational Therapy market is projected to grow at an impressive 10.1% annually, reaching over $128 billion by 2032. This isn’t a short-term spike. It is a sustained wave of growth that adds significant underlying value to your practice.

Key Considerations

A strong market is a great starting point, but a successful sale depends on careful preparation. We know that selling your practice is more than a financial transaction. It’s the culmination of your hard work and dedication. Before you get deep into the process, it is important to consider a few critical factors that can make or break a deal.

Here are three key areas to focus on from the very beginning:

1. Strict Confidentiality. The news that your practice might be for sale can make staff anxious and clients nervous. It can also give competitors an unwelcome advantage. A disciplined confidentiality strategy is not optional. It protects the value of your business throughout the process.
2. Pristine Financials. Potential buyers will scrutinize your financial records. Disorganized books are a major red flag. Work with an accountant to ensure your financial reports are clean, easy to understand, and accurately reflect the health of your practice. This step alone can shorten the due diligence period significantly.
3. Emotional Readiness. Do not underestimate the emotional weight of selling. Your practice is part of your identity. Acknowledging this attachment and defining what you want for your future, your staff, and your patients will provide clarity and resolve during negotiations.

Market Activity

The Jacksonville market is not just growing; it is active. Buyers, ranging from local practices to larger equity-backed groups, are actively looking for acquisition opportunities. Understanding what they are looking for, and how they measure value, is key to positioning your practice for a premium sale price.

Acquirers often talk in terms of “multiples.” They will typically value a practice by applying a multiple to its earnings. This multiple, however, is not a fixed number. It can vary dramatically based on your practice’s size, efficiency, and growth trajectory. Relying on simple “rules of thumb” can leave significant money on the table.

Here is a look at how multiples can change based on the scale of the practice, which shows why professionalizing your operations is so important.

As you can see, reaching certain earnings thresholds can fundamentally change your practice’s value. This is why a strategic approach to a sale, often starting years in advance, is so powerful.

The Sale Process

Seeing the potential value of your practice is exciting. The next question is, how does a sale actually happen? While every transaction is unique, the journey from decision to closing typically follows a structured path. Approaching it with a clear understanding of the stages can remove uncertainty and help you stay in control. Selling your practice is a marathon, not a sprint, and you should not let the process distract you from running your day-to-day operations.

Here are the four major phases of a typical sale process:

1. Preparation and Valuation. This is the foundation. It involves organizing your financials, defining the practice’s strengths, and engaging an expert to determine a credible and defensible valuation. This is also when you assemble your team of advisors.
2. Confidential Marketing. Your advisor will create a professional summary (a Selling Memo) and confidentially approach a curated list of qualified buyers. The goal is to create a competitive environment to generate strong offers without alerting your staff or the public.
3. Negotiation and Due Diligence. Once you accept an initial offer (Letter of Intent), the buyer begins an in-depth review of your practice. This due diligence phase covers your finances, operations, and legal standing. Solid preparation in phase one makes this step much smoother.
4. Closing. After a successful due diligence, lawyers draft the final purchase agreements. Once signed, the funds are transferred, and the transition of ownership begins according to the terms you negotiated.

Unlocking Your Practice’s True Value

Many practice owners mistakenly believe their practice’s value is simply a percentage of its annual revenue. The sophisticated buyers active in the market today, especially private equity groups, look much deeper. They value your practice based on its profitability and its potential. Understanding their methods is the first step to maximizing your final sale price.

Beyond Revenue: Understanding Adjusted EBITDA

The key metric is Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). This might sound complex, but the idea is simple. It calculates your practice’s true cash flow. We start with your net income and add back things like taxes, interest, and non-cash expenses. Most importantly, we “normalize” earnings by adjusting for owner-specific expenses that a new owner would not incur.

For example, if your practice has a $500,000 net income but you pay yourself an above-market salary and run some personal expenses through the business, your Adjusted EBITDA might actually be $700,000 or more. This higher figure is what a buyer will use for their valuation, which can dramatically increase your practice’s worth.

Your Practice’s Story

The numbers are only half of it. Buyers are not just acquiring a spreadsheet. They are investing in a future. The story you tell1 about your reputation in Jacksonville, your dedicated staff, your efficient operations, and your opportunities for growth1 is what convinces them to pay a premium multiple.

Life After the Sale

Finalizing the sale of your practice is a major milestone, but it is not the end of the story. The structure of your deal has long-lasting implications for your financial future and your legacy. Thinking about these factors early in the process gives you more options and greater control over the outcome.

Here are three critical post-sale elements to plan for:

1. Your Transition Role. What do you want your involvement to be after the sale? You might stay on for a period of 1-3 years to ensure a smooth transition, or you might negotiate a role with reduced clinical and administrative duties. Defining this upfront is a key part of the negotiation.
2. Tax-Efficient Structures. How your sale is structured1as an asset sale or entity sale1has massive tax implications. Planning this with an advisor can significantly increase your net proceeds. It is one of the most important, and most often overlooked, aspects of a sale.
3. A Second Bite of the Apple. Many modern deals, especially with private equity, involve the seller “rolling over” a portion of their equity into the new, larger company. While this means less cash at close, it gives you ownership in a bigger platform, allowing for a potential second, often larger, payday when that platform is sold again in the future.