A veterinary practice in Gurnee is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Waukegan — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide veterinary practices playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Gurnee file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Gurnee market
Selling a veterinary practice in Gurnee
A veterinary practice in Gurnee is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Waukegan — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide veterinary practices playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Gurnee file.
Gurnee is the Lake County tourism interchange: Gurnee Mills, Six Flags Great America, and I-94 outlets — visitor traffic on top of a residential village.
Outlet and theme-park seasonality belongs in the recast. Franchise and mall landlords control more leases here than in Libertyville’s downtown. Great Lakes Naval Station is nearby payroll, not this village’s identity. A household HVAC book and a Mills-adjacent restaurant are two sales.
Gurnee has about 31,295 residents in Lake County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Waukegan is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
7x–12x EBITDA
Typical timeline
6–15 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Lake County
Population
31,295
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.
There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.
Gurnee demand for veterinary practices is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 31,295 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Veterinary Practice in Gurnee
What a Gurnee buyer will underwrite on this veterinary practice
A veterinary practice in Gurnee is a personal license plus a panel that will still drive here after the seller leaves. Parking, payer mix, and who can own the clinical entity are Illinois rules; the trade area is Gurnee versus Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake. We will not invent a ZIP premium.
Veterinary Practices statewide typically plan around 7x–12x EBITDA and a 6–15 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Gurnee shop. Buyers here usually argue active patient count, associate-readiness, revenue per visit, equipment condition, practice age.
Closing clock for this Gurnee file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: IDFPR veterinary licenses are personal. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Gurnee application of it.
In a suburb like Gurnee, dvms, corporate consolidators (banfield, vca), pe-backed platforms are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Waukegan is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a veterinary practice in Gurnee
Split buyer pool: North Shore and Libertyville businesses attract SBA and strategics who want household income; Waukegan and industrial I-94 businesses attract operator and logistics buyers. Great Lakes Naval Station and tourism along the lake change seasonality for some retail and hospitality books.
Illustration: a two-DVM small-animal practice in Naperville with a thin boarding wing, an owner still doing 40 percent of appointments, and a dental table that is six years old. Not a closed sale.
A veterinary practice whose customers already sit in Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake is a larger business than one that stops at the Gurnee city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Gurnee veterinary practice
Veterinary consolidators underwrite EBITDA after a market-rate DVM, not SDE that still hides the owner-doctor. Recast boarding and retail as lower-multiple earnings if they dominate. Relief-vet spend that replaces the owner is a run-rate cost, not a one-time. A 7x–12x EBITDA conversation is for associate-ready general practices with a real medical record — not a one-DVM clinic the seller still closes every night.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Gurnee shop. A veterinary practice whose tax return shows $215,000 of net profit is not worth $215,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $114,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $22,000 of discretionary benefits, $16,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $15,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $12,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $370,000. At the planning range 7.0x–12.0x, enterprise value is $2,590,000 to $4,440,000. Mid-range 9.50x is $3,515,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Gurnee buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 9.50 times $370,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $3,515,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Gurnee veterinary practice — not a quote
Net profit
$215,000
Owner W-2
$114,000
Benefits
$22,000
One-time
$16,000
Personal
$15,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$12,000
Recast SDE
$370,000
Planning EV at 9.50x
$3,515,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for veterinary practices.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
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1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Lake County closings use state CBS-1 plus municipal licenses (Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and North Shore villages each differ). No Chicago 45-day notice unless you also have a Chicago location. Lake County health and contractor registrations are common diligence items for food and trades.
IDFPR veterinary licenses are personal. Illinois also expects a veterinary premises permit on the facility. Those do not transfer by bill of sale. DEA and Illinois controlled-substance registrations sit with the named veterinarian. Corporate ownership is more open than human medicine, but the premises and the attending DVM still have to be legal on day one.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Gurnee
For a veterinary practice in Gurnee, the first labor question is: Associate-ready schedule and a staying DVM.
I-94 is the spine. Route density is real between Buffalo Grove and Gurnee and thinner toward the Wisconsin line. Leases in outlet and tourism corridors can be franchise- or landlord-controlled. Winter lake-effect operations matter for home services.
Lake mixes Fortune-campus remnants, naval payroll, and bedroom suburbs. Do not price a Waukegan industrial book like a Libertyville professional practice.
Diligence
What a serious veterinary practice buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Associate-ready schedule and a staying DVM; Medical-services mix versus boarding/retail; Current surgery and dental equipment; Wellness-plan recurrence; Controlled-substance and premises compliance a consolidator will not reopen.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Gurnee business: Active patients, average client transaction, and wellness-plan penetration; DVM production by doctor and after-hours reality; Controlled-substance log, DEA, and premises permit; Equipment (anesthesia, dental, digital rads) age and service contracts; Boarding, grooming, and retail as a share of EBITDA; Associate contracts and non-solicits that Illinois will actually honor.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Gurnee veterinary practice buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Gurnee veterinary practice for sale
Recast this Gurnee veterinary practice. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Gurnee buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this veterinary practice pull a permit or see a patient in Gurnee, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Gurnee trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Gurnee limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Lake County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois veterinary practices hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Gurnee file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Lake County, including local closing steps.
Illinois veterinary practices typically sell for 7x–12x EBITDA, making them among the highest-multiple small businesses in any sector. Corporate consolidators and PE-backed platforms are driving strong valuations.
Corporate buyers typically pay higher multiples, often in the 8x–12x EBITDA range, but may require you to stay on for 1–3 years and may change how the practice operates. Individual DVM buyers may pay less but allow more control over the transition. We present both options so you can choose.
All buyers — individual DVMs and corporate groups — sign NDAs before receiving identifying information. Your staff and clients will not know you are considering a sale until you decide to disclose.
For corporate buyers, a transition period of 1–3 years is typically required. For individual buyers, 6–18 months is common. The length depends on your goals and the buyer's confidence in the transition.
Practices that can grow with the addition of associate veterinarians are worth more, because buyers see a clear path to increasing revenue after the acquisition. Associate-readiness is one of the top value drivers in veterinary practice sales.
Most Gurnee asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Lake County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
Buyers in Gurnee are often SBA owner-operators and neighboring operators along the same corridor. Larger recurring books can draw a platform. They will compare this suburb to the next town in Lake County.
No. The planning multiple for veterinary practices is a statewide starting point, not a Gurnee appraisal. Buyers in Lake County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Veterinary Practice Brokerage Near Gurnee
We serve veterinary practices owners and buyers across Lake County and the surrounding region.