Romanian doctor has EUR 10 mln expansion plan for local dental clinic network

Romanian doctor Ionut Leahu, specialist in dental implantology and owner of the local Dr. Leahu dental clinics, aims to allocate more than EUR 10 million in the next three years to expand the Dr. Leahu network nationwide. His plan is to open 20 new clinics in this period. To develop the dental services at national level, the doctor has set up a medical partnership system that keeps the rigor of the franchise but is differentiated by the contribution to the investment, according to a press release. The partner should manage resources locally and have a minimum capital of EUR 100,000. The rest of the investment, up to EUR 500,000 to build a new clinic to network standards, is covered by the Dr. Leahu clinics. Ionut Leahu opened the first clinic seven years ago, with a small investment of only RON 1,500. The network includes four clinics in Bucharest and one in Pitesti at the present, with new clinics to be opened in four other cities in the following six months. A modern dental clinic will be opened in Timisoara in mid-November, following an investment of EUR 1.15 million. Then, two new clinics will be inaugurated in Bucharest in the first part of 2019, for which the doctor has allocated EUR 1.2 million. Another EUR 1.8 million will be invested in opening a Regional Center of Excellence in Cluj-Napoca. The expansion is mainly funded by banks, according to the press release. The Dr. Leahu dental clinics estimate a turnover of RON 29 million (EUR 6.2 million) for 2018, up 70% over last year. 30% of those who make appointments at the Dr. Leahu clinics do not live in Bucharest, the percentage growing in the summer to 60% of the total of 1500 unique patients per month. The doctor hopes to reach 15,000 unique patients per month by 2021. In the long run, Ionut Leahu also aims to create an area of research and development in dentistry and expand the dental clinic network abroad. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com