VetPartners

What VetPartners does

VetPartners is a UK-headquartered veterinary care group operating more than 500 small animal, equine, farm, mixed, and referral practices across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Channel Islands, employing 10,000+ people. The company was founded in 2015 by Jo Malone, a practicing veterinarian, starting with three practices including Minster Vets in York, and has since scaled through organic growth and a sustained programme of acquisitions targeting independent clinics, specialist referral hospitals (Liphook, Rossdales, Rainbow equine hospitals), farm specialists (Kingshay Dairy Consultancy, Garth Pig Practice, Poultry Health Services), and adjacent services including pet cremation and online veterinary retail via VetUK.

VetPartners operates a hybrid model in which individual practices retain clinical and pricing autonomy while the central group provides shared infrastructure across finance, IT, HR, marketing, training, and clinical governance. Revenue is generated primarily through professional services delivered at the practice level, supplemented by the Pet Health Plan, an annual subscription bundling vaccinations, parasite treatments, microchipping, wellness screens, and discounts on neutering, dental, and food for dogs, cats, and rabbits. Data-driven farm platforms (Kingshay benchmarking and antimicrobial reporting; DigiFarm tracking) serve livestock farmer clients with health, welfare, and productivity insights.

Following its October 2023 acquisition by EQT AB's BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII, VetPartners has signalled expansion into Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, supported by multi-language web infrastructure for several additional European markets. The group faces material regulatory headwinds from the UK Competition and Markets Authority's 2025 market investigation into the companion animal veterinary sector, which mandates publication of price lists, ownership disclosure, and prescription fee caps. Leadership includes founder-CEO Jo Malone, UK Managing Director Jonathan Power (appointed May 2025), and directors covering operations, farm, equine, people, finance, and marketing functions.

Name

VetPartners

Legal name

VetPartners Limited

Website

http://www.vetpartners.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

VetPartners is a UK-based veterinary care group operating 500+ small animal, equine, farm, and referral practices founded in 2015. The company serves pet owners, livestock farmers, and horse owners across the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Care Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152), Support Activities for Animal Production (115210)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Companion Animal Veterinary Clinics & Hospitals (AFAEANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Equine Veterinary Services (AFAEANAC), Routine On-Farm Veterinary Services (Exams, Treatment, Prescribing) (AFACADAB), Equine Ambulatory & On-Farm Veterinary Services (HLAMABAE)

Keywords

• Veterinary care services
• Small animal practice
• Equine veterinary services
• Farm livestock health
• Pet health plans

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Veterinary Services Revenue: VetPartners generates revenue through a network of over 500 veterinary practices across the UK, providing pet, farm, equine, and mixed veterinary services. Practices operate independently at local level, setting their own pricing, while the central group provides shared infrastructure support in finance, IT, HR and marketing.
2. Pet Health Plan Subscriptions: VetPartners offers Pet Health Plans for dogs, cats, and rabbits providing year-round preventative healthcare (vaccinations, parasite treatments, health checks, microchipping, discounts on neutering, dental, and food) for a recurring subscription. This creates a predictable recurring revenue stream while incentivising regular clinic visits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

VetPartners operates a network of more than 500 veterinary practices across the UK delivering small animal, equine, farm, mixed and referral veterinary care to pet owners, livestock farmers and horse owners. The group provides centralised support in finance, IT, HR and marketing so that local clinical teams can focus on patient care. It also offers subscription-based Pet Health Plans for dogs, cats and rabbits covering preventative healthcare, and runs specialist equine hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, a pet cremation service and data-driven farm management platforms such as Kingshay and DigiFarm.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kingshay: Dairy consultancy platform providing benchmarking, costings, and antimicrobial usage reports for dairy, beef, and sheep farmers.
• DigiFarm
• Pet Health Plan
• VetPartners Equine Nursing School

Products and services

• Pet Health Plan Year-round preventative healthcare subscription for dogs, cats and rabbits available across VetPartners practices, including vaccinations, parasite treatments, health checks, microchipping, wellness screens and discounts on neutering, dental, food and selected procedures.
• Small animal veterinary services General veterinary care for dogs, cats and rabbits delivered through VetPartners' small animal practices, including vaccinations, microchipping, neutering, dental care, flea/tick/worm treatments, end-of-life care and travel certificates.
• Equine first opinion and referral services Veterinary care for horses, ponies and donkeys delivered through first opinion equine practices and specialist referral hospitals, including advanced surgery, lameness and poor performance investigations, internal medicine, artificial insemination and dentistry.
• Farm and mixed veterinary services Veterinary services for dairy, beef, sheep and pig farmers plus smallholders, delivered through VetPartners' network of farm and mixed practices including Kingshay Dairy Consultancy, Garth Pig Practice and Poultry Health Services, covering herd health, productivity, antimicrobial stewardship and welfare management.
• Liphook Equine Hospital referral services Specialist equine hospital and referral services operated by VetPartners, based in Hampshire with an associated VetPartners Equine Nursing School.
• Rossdales Equine Hospital and diagnostic laboratories Specialist equine hospital and referral services supported by Rossdales Equine Hospital and Laboratories providing equine diagnostic laboratory services.
• Rainbow Equine Hospital referral services Specialist equine hospital and referral services operated as part of VetPartners' equine division.
• Pet Cremation Services Pet cremation services for end-of-life care offered to pet owners across the VetPartners network.
• Kingshay Dairy Consultancy Dairy consultancy platform providing benchmarking, costings and antimicrobial stewardship reports to support dairy, beef and sheep farm decision-making.
• VetPartners Nursing School (equine and small animal) Veterinary nursing education covering equine and small animal pathways, delivered through VetPartners' Nursing School based at Liphook Equine Hospital in Hampshire.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IVC Evidensia: Europe's largest veterinary group, also owned by EQT AB, operating a multi-species network of practices and referral hospitals across the UK and continental Europe. Most directly comparable peer given shared ownership, similar multi-species roll-up model, and overlapping UK footprint.
• CVS Group: UK-listed veterinary group operating small animal, equine, farm, and referral practices across the UK and Australia. Highly comparable multi-species model, though smaller and equity-listed rather than PE-backed.
• Medivet: Large UK small-animal veterinary group with a partnership model for vets, historically PE-backed (CVC/Harvest Partners). Direct comparable as a top-six UK consolidator facing the same CMA scrutiny.
• Linnaeus Veterinary: UK veterinary group owned by Mars Petcare, focused on referral and primary care practices. Comparable in its UK multi-site model, referral hospital footprint, and PE/strategic ownership profile.
• Vets4Pets (Pets at Home): UK veterinary group operating joint-venture practices inside Pets at Home retail stores, owned by Pets at Home Group plc. Comparable large-scale UK small animal network with subscription-like healthcare plans.

Broad incumbents

• Mars Petcare: Global pet care conglomerate and parent of Linnaeus, AniCura, BluePearl, and VCA. Comparable as a much larger strategic owner of veterinary service brands competing for the same M&A assets and clinical talent.
• BluePearl Pet Hospital: US specialty and emergency veterinary hospital group owned by Mars Petcare. Comparable in the referral/specialist hospital segment and as a strategic-owned, multi-site veterinary platform.
• VCA Animal Hospitals: Largest North American veterinary group, owned by Mars Inc. Comparable as a large strategic-owned multi-site veterinary network with both general practice and specialist referral hospitals.

Regional players

• Greencross Vets: Largest Australian veterinary group, now part of the Petstock Group. Comparable multi-site vet model; relevant regional peer for VetPartners' stated Australia/New Zealand expansion.
• National Veterinary Care (Australia/NZ): Australian and New Zealand veterinary group acquired by VetPartners in December 2019. Most directly comparable ANZ peer and the platform for VetPartners' Asia-Pacific expansion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vetpartners
• Xx.com/vetpartnersltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A6 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VetPartners