Portman Dental Care

Portman Dentalcare is a chain of dental practices based in Cheltenham established by Sam Waley-Cohen in 2009.

He sold a large stake in the business to Core Equity Holdings in June 2018 for more than £300 million.[1] Core Equity Holdings invested into the firm in July 2018, valuing it at more than £300 million.[2]

The company offers customers the option to pay for treatment by instalments.[3] Members of the Professional Jockeys Association qualify for discounts from the company.[4]

It sponsors a trophy at the Henley Women's Regatta, [5] and the Portman Dentalcare Handicap Hurdle at Downpatrick Racecourse.[6]

By March 2011 the business had grown to eight dental practices employing 170 staff[7] and by 2013 it has grown to 15 dental practices.[8] It took over Apollonia House Dental and Healthcare in Grasscroft in 2015 and the practice was named the Portman Dental Practice of the Year in August 2016. At that point the company owned 45 dental practices across the UK.[9]

It was shortlisted for the award of Customer Service Provider of the Year in the 2017 Dental Industry Awards,[10] In that financial year it reported income of £48.97 million.[11] and included in the London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.[12]

In 2018 it was reported that female staff in the business were only paid 40% of the rates of male staff - the biggest pay gap in the sector.[13]

It bought Caledonian Dental Care, which was established in Perth in 1947 and is the biggest dental practice in Scotland, with 40,000 patients and 19 surgeries in November 2018. This was its sixth acquisition in Scotland in 2018.[14] The practice it plans to open in Bicester would largely do private work. Only orthodontics would be paid for by the NHS.[15] In 2018 it had over 80 practices across the UK.[16] It is in competition with BUPA and Genesis Dental Care to acquire practices.[17]