Full year Results, page-30

Yes, i exaggerated re: CDDS going to zero overnight, that's fair. Yet that doesn't change the fact that they (and plenty of other dentistry operators) lost a ~20% customer, even if it didn't happened overnight. By the way, you're on record as saying that CDDS was more like 40-60% of ONT's revenues, so the post CDDS downturn in revenue should've been much, much larger according to you: https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/an....1876468/page-9?post_id=11198053#.WapVdsig9PY.

The issue of private healthcare funds beating up on healthcare practitioners (dentists, in this case) is nothing new - there's always punch-ups between the funds and all types of healthcare practitioners (doctors, radiographers, ophthalmologists, dentists, physiotherapists etc, etc.) as to who gets the rebates, how much, which services are rebateable and which aren't, preferred & non-preferred provider status and so on. This dynamic, and changes to government funding schemes, are an unavoidable consequence of being invested in a healthcare provider, as healthcare providers ultimately receive a large chunk of their revenues either via government funding or via private health care funds. It's a risk i'm aware of and accept.

This issue of ONT buying practices with dentists who may leave (either to compete, or to retire) post the agreed service period is also a challenge that is common to acquirers of any professional services firm - the assets walk out the door every night. That's an unavoidable fact of life for any professional service firm - dentists, doctors, vets, accountants, engineers, lawyers etc. - it's the same issue regardless of the industry. There have been roll-up plays in pretty much every type of professional service industry that i can think of, and the difference between the roll-up operator failing or succeeding isn't whether staff leave (because they inevitably do, eventually), but it's more to do with how transactions are structured from a financial perspective and how well the operator can backfill/maintain operations when principals leave. ONT does this very well, in my view. I'm happier with ONT buying practices staffed by dentists close to retirement than i am with ONT buying practices staffed by a bunch of 30-somethings - why? Because a retired dentist doesn't set up a shop next door to take all the clients and goodwill away, whereas the 30-something dentist probably does. I can speak from personal experience here: everyone in my family went to the same dentist for years; he eventually retired, and so we kept going back to the same practice but to his sidekick (younger) dentist. If, instead of retiring, that dentist we had used for years just opened up a new shop next door, we probably would've followed him next door.