Guide to Selling a Sports Medicine & Performance Therapy Practice in San Antonio, TX

How to navigate the market, understand your practice’s value, and prepare for a successful transition.

Selling your Sports Medicine & Performance Therapy practice is one of the most significant financial decisions you’ll ever make. The San Antonio market is active, and the national demand for sports medicine is showing strong growth. However, turning that market opportunity into a successful sale requires careful planning and a clear understanding of the process. This guide provides the insights you need to navigate the path from your initial consideration to a successful closing.

Market Overview

The timing for selling a sports medicine practice has rarely been better. National trends create a powerful tailwind for owners in markets like San Antonio. Understanding these forces is the first step in positioning your practice for a premium valuation.

National Tailwinds

The sports medicine sector is growing at an impressive rate of over 6% annually. This is driven by an aging but active population and a greater focus on injury prevention and performance optimization. For buyers, this growth signals a stable and promising investment. They see practices like yours not just as a current business, but as a platform for future expansion in a thriving industry.

The San Antonio Landscape

In San Antonio, these national trends meet a dynamic local healthcare market. The city has a strong sports culture and an active community. While this creates a competitive environment with established hospital systems and physical therapy chains, it also confirms a high demand for specialized services. A well-run independent practice with a loyal patient base and strong referral sources is a very attractive asset in this setting.

Key Considerations

While market conditions are favorable, a buyer’s final offer depends on the specific strengths of your practice. They will look past the surface-level numbers to understand the foundation of your business. Your story is just as important as your financials. Can you demonstrate consistent referral streams from local physicians or sports teams? Is your clinical team experienced and likely to remain through a transition? Have you streamlined operations with efficient technology like an EMR system? Answering these questions with clear evidence is how you move from a good price to a great one. Preparing these answers takes time, which is why starting the process early is always a good idea.

Timing your practice sale correctly can be the difference between average and premium valuations.

Market Activity

You won’t find a public list of recent practice sales in San Antonio. That information is typically confidential. However, we see consistent activity from two main types of buyers, each with a different motivation. Understanding them is key to finding the right fit for your legacy, your staff, and your financial goals.

1. Strategic Buyers. These are often larger physical therapy chains or regional healthcare systems looking to expand their footprint. They are buying your location, your patient list, and your reputation in the San Antonio community. They are interested in how your practice can integrate into their existing network and operations.

2. Private Equity-Backed Groups. These financial buyers see your practice as a “platform.” Their goal is to invest in your business, provide resources for growth, and eventually partner with other practices to build a larger organization. They are often willing to pay a premium for well-managed practices with strong profitability and clear growth opportunities. This path can sometimes include options for you to retain equity and share in future success.

Sale Process

Selling a practice is a structured process, not a single event. It begins long before a buyer is involved. The first step is preparation. This involves organizing your financials and getting a clear, objective valuation to set a realistic price. Next, we would move to a confidential marketing phase, where we present the opportunity to a curated list of qualified buyers without disrupting your staff or patients. Once offers are received and negotiated, the process moves to due diligence. This is an intense review where the buyer verifies everything about your practice. Proper preparation here is critical to prevent surprises. The final stage is closing, where legal documents are finalized and the transition of ownership occurs.

Valuation

Many owners think of their practice’s value as a multiple of revenue. This is just a ballpark guess. Sophisticated buyers, especially private equity groups, value your practice based on its profitability. The key metric they use is Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). This isn’t your net income. It’s your true cash flow after adding back personal expenses or one-time costs. Properly calculating your Adjusted EBITDA is the single most important step in maximizing your valuation. It tells the real story of your practice’s financial health.

A professional assessment can reveal significant hidden value, as this simple example shows:

A comprehensive valuation is the foundation of a successful practice transition strategy.

Post-Sale Considerations

The transaction ‘close’ is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new chapter for you, your staff, and your patients. Thinking about this future is a critical part of negotiating the deal itself. Do you want to leave clinical practice immediately, or would you prefer to stay on for a few years? What happens to your trusted team? The right deal structure can address these concerns. Some owners negotiate a transition period, while others explore options like retaining a portion of equity in the new, larger company. This gives you a “second bite at the apple.” Protecting your legacy means planning for these outcomes from the start.

The right exit approach depends on your personal and financial objectives.