New Zealand-based Ocula Group is preparing to cross the Tasman, with founder and director Danielle Winstone confirming the business is actively looking to acquire independent optometry practices in Australia.
Ms Winstone, a registered optometrist who trained at Queensland University of Technology before settling in NZ’s South Island town of Wanaka, established Ocula Group 16 years ago. Since then, the business has grown to eight practices spanning the length of New Zealand, from Newmarket, Takapuna, and Howick in Auckland, through Christchurch Central and Merivale in Canterbury, to Wanaka, Queenstown, and Invercargill.
Rather than building greenfield sites, Ocula has grown almost entirely through acquisition, partnering with independent practice owners at the point of succession. “We’re very particular about who we acquire,” she explained, but for the right business, “we have a flexible model that meets vendors where they’re at”.
Ocula… is looking for… businesses too large for most private buyers with owners who may be reluctant to hand over to a corporate
“The question we’re always asked is how long we want them to stick around for. Each of our transactions looks entirely different… Some vendors want three months, some have zero intention of retiring, they just don’t want to deal with business ownership anymore. And some have no intention of retiring in the near future.”
She said most vendors achieve their ideal sell price by offering to stay in this business for two to three years.
Strength in Experience
Ms Winstone said her background has given her a rare vantage point on what makes optometry practices work.
Having been raised, trained and worked as an optometrist for several years before moving to New Zealand, she has an appreciation of each country’s different cultures and business models.
And having worked in highly clinical practices as well as others known for being retail focused she said, “Most people feel like you have to do one or the other… I feel like I have a unique perspective on being able to do both well”.
Ms Winstone hopes that this perspective will help her build the trust of practice owners in Australia, just as it has done in New Zealand.
“In New Zealand, I’m the only optometrist CEO who has sat in the consultation room. I’ve sat where these business owners have sat,” she said. “I understand it’s not a transaction for these people, it’s a transition. There’s a lot of emotion involved when selling a business that has been grown over years; there is concern for their patients, their suppliers, their team. So the trust factor is really important.”
Also central to that trust, she said, is the ownership structure behind the business.
“People want to know who is backing me. I’m the business owner, I’m the only shareholder. There’s no private equity firm, no board, no supplier with a stake, no separate CEO. I am it,” she said. “I do have key advisors, but you’re talking with the person that you’ll deal with the whole way through.”
She said Ocula’s approach to acquisitions is as much about protecting a practice’s people as it is about the numbers.
“What’s most important to us is the entire ecosystem that sits around independent optometry, which is supporting the team that is in there,” she said. “A lot of people think that their goodwill sits with their patient base. It sits as equally with their team.” Supplier relationships built up over decades are treated with the same care, she added.
Starting Conversations
For independent optometry practice owners looking at their next step, General Manager of Operations Emma Solanki, who runs the business remotely from the Gold Coast, said Ocula’s flexible pathway presents an exciting pathway to succession.
“There’s a really big opportunity and some amazing businesses out there that possibly don’t have a succession plan or know who to go to now, because there’s obviously been some changes in the market,” Ms Solanki said.
Ocula is not chasing a particular state or region. Instead, she said the group is looking for well-established, independent practices generally turning over more than AU$1.5 million; businesses too large for most private buyers with owners who may be reluctant to hand over to a corporate.
“These business owners have built something very unique and something very special,” she said. “They don’t necessarily want to see it go to a corporate. And that’s where we see a niche.”
Ms Winstone encouraged Australian practice owners considering their exit to start the conversation early, and was quick to assure any conversations would be held in complete confidence.
“The sooner you can start these conversations, the more runway you have towards that exit, to be able to exit on your terms,” she said.
Practice owners interested in a confidential discussion can reach Danielle Winstone directly via LinkedIn or through oculagroup.com.au.
