Guide to Selling a Sports Medicine & Performance Therapy Practice in Illinois

Selling your Sports Medicine & Performance Therapy practice in Illinois is a significant step. You have likely spent years building your reputation, patient base, and a dedicated team. Now, you are considering the next chapter. This guide will walk you through the current market, how to prepare your practice for a successful sale, and what buyers are looking for today. We will cover the key factors that drive value in your specialty and how to navigate the process with confidence.

Market Overview: A Growing Field

The market for physical and performance therapy is strong. Nationally, the industry is growing at a steady pace, projected to expand by over 4.6% annually through 2030. Illinois, with its mix of professional sports, large suburban populations, and active communities, is a particularly active market.

This growth is not just a statistic. It is driven by real-world trends that directly benefit your practice:
1. An Aging but Active Population: More seniors and “weekend warriors” are seeking to maintain an active lifestyle, creating consistent demand for injury recovery and prevention.
2. A Focus on Preventive Care: Patients and payers are increasingly recognizing the value of pre-habilitation and performance therapy to avoid costly surgeries.
3. Consistent Sports & Occupational Demand: From school athletes to employees with physically demanding jobs, the need for specialized sports medicine services remains high.

This positive environment means that well-run practices are attractive targets for buyers.

Key Considerations for Your Practice

While market trends are favorable, buyers look closely at the specific health of your business. For a Sports Medicine & Performance Therapy practice in Illinois, they will focus on a few key areas. Your referral sources are critical. Are they diversified among orthopedic surgeons, primary care physicians, and direct community marketing, or do they depend on your personal relationship with one or two doctors? Buyers favor stability. They also analyze your payer mix. A healthy balance of insurance contracts and high-margin, cash-pay performance services is often seen as ideal. Finally, they will assess how dependent the practice is on you, the owner. A strong clinical team and smooth operations that can run without your daily presence significantly increase a practice’s value and salability.

Market Activity: Who Is Buying in Illinois?

The
days of selling primarily to a younger associate are fading. Todays market in Illinois is defined by more sophisticated and well-capitalized buyers. Understanding who they are is key to positioning your practice effectively.

The Strategic Buyer

This is often a larger regional physical therapy group or a local hospital system. Their goal is to expand their geographic footprint or add a new service line. They are looking for practices with a great local reputation, a solid patient base, and a clinical team that can be integrated into their existing network. For them, your location and community standing are as important as your financials.

The Private Equity Platform

Private equity groups are also very active in the therapy space. They acquire successful practices to use as a “platform” for future growth, or they buy practices to “tuck-in” to an existing platform they own. These buyers are highly focused on financials, operational efficiency, and scalability. They look for clean records, consistent profitability, and clear opportunities for growth. Running a professional process to create competitive tension between these buyer types is the best way to ensure you achieve a premium valuation.

The Sale Process: A Marathon, Not a Sprint

Selling your practice is a structured process that begins long before a buyer is at the table. The first phase is preparation. This is where we see many owners leave money on the table. It involves organizing your financial statements, cleaning up any legal or compliance loose ends, and ensuring your key documents are in order. The goal is to present your practice in the best possible light and be ready for scrutiny. Once prepared, the next step is confidentially marketing your practice to a curated list of qualified buyers. The final, and often most challenging, stage is due diligence. This is an intense review where the buyer verifies every aspect of your business. Proper preparation makes this phase a smooth confirmation of value, not a period of stressful renegotiation where deals can fall apart.

What Is Your Practice Really Worth?

Forget old rules of thumb like a simple multiple of revenue. Todays buyers base their valuation on a more precise metric: Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). We start with your net profit and add back expenses that a new owner would not incur, like your personal auto lease, excess owner salary, or other one-time costs. This gives a true picture of the practice’s profitability.

That Adjusted EBITDA figure is then multiplied by a specific number, or “multiple,” which varies based on risk and growth potential. Here is a general guide to what we are seeing in the market today:

As you can see, size and scale matter. But so do factors like your management team, referral stability, and growth history. A comprehensive valuation is the foundation of a successful exit strategy.

After the Sale: Planning Your Next Move

A successful sale is not just about the price you receive at closing. It is also about a smooth transition for your staff, your patients, and yourself. The structure of the deal has major implications for your future. Will you retire immediately, or stay on for a transition period? Are you participating in an “earnout,” where you can earn additional proceeds by hitting future performance targets? Some owners choose to “roll over” a portion of their equity, partnering with the new owner to share in the future success. Thinking through these post-sale considerations during negotiations is critical. It ensures your financial goals are met while your personal legacy and your team are protected. This advance planning is often what separates a good outcome from a great one.