How to Sell a Physical Therapy Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Selling a physical therapy practice usually follows the same path: decide what you want out of the sale, get three years of financials in order, choose the type of buyer that fits your goals, sign a letter of intent, go through due diligence, then close and transition your team and patients. The owners who come out happiest are the ones who decided what “a good outcome” means to them before they talked price.

This guide walks through each step from the perspective of a buyer. Kinetic Care Group is an owner-led physical therapy group that buys and partners with independent practices, so these are the questions we see owners ask most.

Step 1: Decide what you actually want

Before you value the practice or call anyone, write down what you want the next three years to look like. The answer changes which buyers make sense:

• A full exit. You want to step away from the business and clinical work on a set timeline.
• Stay clinical, drop the admin. You want to keep treating patients but hand off billing, payroll, recruiting and compliance.
• Keep ownership, get support. You are not ready to sell, but you want a larger group’s back office and financial clarity. This is what a Management Services Agreement (MSA) is for.

Also decide what you will not trade away. For many owners that is the clinic’s name, the jobs of a team they built, or a visit length they believe in. Those priorities matter as much as the headline price.

Step 2: Get your numbers in order

Buyers price a practice on its earnings and how dependable those earnings are. Have these ready before your first serious conversation:

• Three years of profit and loss statements and business tax returns
• Year-to-date financials, updated monthly
• Visits per week and new patients per month, by clinic and by clinician
• Payer mix and your contracted rates with major payers
• Accounts receivable aging
• A staff list with roles, tenure and compensation
• Your lease, equipment list and any major vendor contracts

If your books mix personal and business expenses, ask your accountant to prepare a clean, adjusted version. It makes every later step faster. Our guide to what your physical therapy practice is worth explains how buyers read these numbers.

Step 3: Understand the different kinds of buyers

Not every buyer wants the same thing from your clinic:

• Private-equity-backed platforms buy many practices quickly and often plan to sell the combined company within several years.
• Large national chains typically fold acquired clinics into their own brand and systems.
• Hospital and health systems may buy practices to support their service lines.
• Independent operators like Kinetic Care Group buy and run practices for the long term.
• An associate or local competitor may buy the practice outright, often with financing.

Each can be the right answer for a different owner. Ask every buyer what happens to your name, your team, your visit model and your role after closing. We wrote a separate guide on the questions to ask private-equity and owner-led buyers.

Step 4: Decide whether to use a broker

A broker can market your practice widely and manage several bidders. That can help if price is your only priority. The trade-off is a fee and a more formal process. Many owners prefer to speak directly with one or two buyers they already respect. Either way, hire your own healthcare attorney and accountant. They work for you, not the buyer.

Step 5: Early conversations and confidentiality

The first conversations are about fit, not price. A serious buyer will ask about your goals, your team and how the practice runs, and will explain how they operate. Before you share detailed financials, sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement. Exploring options should never commit you to anything.

Step 6: The letter of intent

If both sides want to move forward, the buyer sends a letter of intent (LOI). It sets out the price, how it is paid (cash at closing, payments over time, or a stake in the combined company), your role after closing, and an exclusivity period while diligence happens. Read the structure as closely as the number. Two offers with the same headline price can put very different amounts in your pocket.

Step 7: Due diligence

During diligence the buyer verifies what you have shared. Expect questions about financials, billing and documentation, payer contracts and credentialing, employment agreements, your lease and any compliance history. Organized owners move through this faster. Surprises found late are what slow deals down or change terms.

Step 8: Closing and transition

Closing is the start of the transition, not the end. A good transition plan covers:

• Your team. Who tells whom, when, and what stays the same: pay, schedules, leadership.
• Your patients and referral partners. A clear, simple message that care continues with the same clinicians.
• Payers and credentialing. Contracts and enrollments may need updating, which takes time and should be planned early.
• Your role. The days you will work, what you are responsible for, and when it ends.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting until you are burned out to start preparing
• Letting one referral source or one clinician carry most of the volume
• Comparing offers on headline price alone
• Telling staff before terms are agreed, or letting them hear it secondhand
• Skipping your own legal and accounting review

How Kinetic Care Group approaches it

We are independent and owner-led, with no private-equity fund and no plan to flip the practice. Every clinic we have acquired still operates under its own name with its own team. Owners can sell outright or keep ownership through a Management Services Agreement, and the first conversation is with our owners directly.

We are actively buying in Colorado Springs, the Denver metro and across Colorado. See how selling to KCG works.