The SALE-LEASEBACK:: Partnering with a Real Estate Developer
“Dr. Smith, Mrs. Jones is on the line. It seems as though Emily has broken a bracket and needs to be seen this afternoon. We are booked until 5:30 this afternoon and I know you wanted to leave promptly to catch your son’s game. What would you like me to tell Mrs. Jones?” Too often this message is typical in the life of the orthodontist. Customer service is vital to establishing and maintaining a practice and normalcy in family life is expected as well. Partnerships are indispensable in meeting the goals of a healthy professional and personal life.
This article is the first of a series that will outline how a trusted real estate partnership can help orthodontists add practices in better locations with co-tenants who add value. This series begins with a personal partnership between Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate and Arkansas Braces. Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate and Development has assisted Dr. Ben Burris in opening nearly 20 clinics in Arkansas, primarily in multi-tenant buildings in high-end retail locations. Arkansas Braces has established a dominant statewide presence in less than four years.
Greg Haag and Joshua Brown established Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate and Development in 2010. Greg and Joshua chose to build the business based on a scripture from Philippians 2:4 which states, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Adhering to this verse, their mission is to put clients’ needs ahead of their own while striving to excel in quality, innovation and value of services provided. This formula of creating partnerships with the clients’ goals and needs first has been successful for Haag Brown Commercial, as well as, their growing list of local and national clients. The company was awarded Arkansas’s Small Business of the Year by Arkansas Business in 2016.
Dr. Burris first contacted Joshua because of a need to sale commercial real estate that was no longer useful for his practice. Conversations between Haag Brown and Dr. Burris eventually landed on the concept of a sale-leaseback. Haag Brown understood that Dr. Burris’ sole interest was in opening the best practices he could in the best locations available. A real estate sale-leaseback is a transaction in which the owner-occupant (Dr. Burris) sells the property used in its business operations to an investor. The Seller then simultaneously leases the property back from the investor on lease terms agreed to concurrent with the real estate closing. Haag Brown sold some excess land and vacant buildings for Dr. Burris and a year later facilitated a sale-leaseback on 3 clinics he owned at the time. The sale-leaseback allowed Dr. Burris to use his capital and borrowing power to invest in new clinics across the state. Typically, business operators will have the majority of their borrowing power tied up in real estate loans. Sale-leasebacks free up capital and borrowing power for owner / operators who own their own real estate.
Due to the heavy demands in the life of an orthodontist with multiple practices, Dr. Burris was looking for a relationship that allowed him to simply give the city or area for a future practice and be finished. Dr. Burris relayed that in a perfect world he only wanted to know where the building would be, what it would look like, who the co-tenant would be, when he could open, and how much it would cost. After listening, Joshua told Dr. Burris that he just described exactly what Haag Brown does for tenants such as Starbucks and other retailers. At the time, there was an immediate opportunity to be a co-tenant with Starbucks in a development in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Dr. Burris was looking for an opportunity in this area. Joshua partnered the two and the success of the resulting clinice has led to other high-end developments all over Arkansas.
Trusting Haag Brown to develop new clinics, Arkansas Braces opened locations in Fayetteville, Springdale, Searcy, Russellville, Little Rock, Jonesboro, and Paragould over the next two years. All of the clinics are located either with Starbucks or stand-alone next to other retailers who generate heavy amounts of traffic. The partnership between Starbucks and an orthodontist may seem unlikely, but led to an increased client base for the clinic. The partnership also opened up real estate opportunities for Starbucks that may not have existed. A co-tenant like Dr. Burris allows Starbucks to open a store at a lower cost than a stand-alone store would require.
Time is the most valuable resource of the orthodontist. The time required on securing the development details of additional practices or re-locating to a better location demands precious time away from the office thereby lessening revenue. However, the investment of private savings into additional locations requires a unique partnership between Dr. Burris and HBC. Webster dictionary defines partnership as a relationship that resembles a legal partnership and usually involving close cooperation between parties having specified and joint rights and responsibilities. Business partnerships may exist without the personal component. Trust is essential in any true partnership. Developing a personal relationship requires a higher level of trust between both parties. A personal partnership with HBC allowed Dr. Burris the time to continue his daily routine of caring for patients while HBC cared for the real estate aspect of his practice. Because of HBC’s commitment to their clients, ehe no longer needed to be present at every meeting and consultation; he trusted HBC to be responsible for his expansion into additional markets. Dr. Burris can remain in the office seeing patients while acknowledging that HBC is providing oversight on every detail of his practice investments.
Dr. Burris is well known for extensive travel with his family and friends. Time with family is very important to his overall success as a person and as a professional. The unique personal partnership between Haag Brown and Dr. Burris allowed adequate time to maintain current offices, open new clinics, and still have a rewarding family life filled with spontaneous trips that earned Ben his reputation. “Just knowing that Josh is taking care of the details, I can travel without worry. He truly puts my needs ahead of his own, fulfilling the Haag Brown mission statement”, Dr. Ben Burris.
The simpler path is seldom the path to greatness. The simple solution would have been to find less expensive office space in a typical medical location for additional clinics. High-end locations next to Starbucks cost more than typical lease space, but the image portrayed and increased traffic generates exponential returns.
“Developing personal partnerships with clients is the driving force of our company. We love the stories that accompany each business adventure. Our team strives to place the client’s wants and needs ahead of our own and in doing so a relationship arises”, states Joshua Brown. “The trust that Dr. Burris placed in our firm was extraordinary and we have both been pleased with the results.” Personal partnerships are one of the many assets that Haag Brown brings to each client.
The next article contains information on how partnerships can lead to other unique opportunities. The example of Dr. Burris and his unlikely relationship with Starbucks is continued through the lens of practicality. Logical locations and partners are not always the most profitable. The HBC team is especially trained to investigate how and when unlikely partners can become profitable partners.
“Please tell Mrs. Jones that Emily can be seen this afternoon at our Springdale office. I have looked over the schedule and there is an available time slot there. I can still make the game in time and Emily will receive great, timely care,” Dr. Smith.
Article featured in “The Progressive Orthodontist” magazine publication