> My brother was a veterinarian who bought an existing clinic in 2008. As I recall it was close to a million dollars before the cost of the building. There was another 2–300K in capital costs for modernizing the clinic.
While this may be true, if anyone is reading this and thinking "that sounds like so much", remember that it is very easy for vets to get very large loans that they can pay back over a long time. The actual amount of money that needs to come from the vet's own pocket could be close to $0.
This is true precisely because of the reasons PE firms want to buy them. They’re a relatively high ROI investment in a stable and fast growing market staffed largely by high paid, educated people.
While this may be true, if anyone is reading this and thinking "that sounds like so much", remember that it is very easy for vets to get very large loans that they can pay back over a long time. The actual amount of money that needs to come from the vet's own pocket could be close to $0.