Vets Now

What Vets Now does

Vets Now, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Dunfermline, Scotland, is the UK's leading provider of out-of-hours emergency veterinary care for companion animals (dogs, cats, and small pets). The company operates a distributed physical model — more than 60 out-of-hours clinics embedded inside partner daytime veterinary practices across the UK, supplemented by two 24/7 specialist referral hospitals in Glasgow and Manchester — and treats approximately 200,000 small animals each year, handling 2+ queries per minute during seasonal peaks such as Christmas and Easter.

Its core products are emergency out-of-hours clinical services (consultation-based fee structure), specialist referral work in neurology, oncology, and advanced diagnostics, and the PawSquad 24/7 video consultation service priced at £28 per session with a "Never Pay Twice" cross-sell into in-clinic visits. Adjacent digital tools include a Pet Symptom Checker (powered by VetHelpDirect), a Chocolate Toxicity Calculator, and a large content portal for pet care advice. Revenue is generated from individual consumer fees for emergency consultations and video consultations, professional fees for specialist referrals, and partner-practice agreements with 1,300–1,600+ UK daytime vet clinics that delegate out-of-hours coverage to Vets Now. The company also runs a CPD/ECCU professional development program (ECC Congress, Cert VN ECC qualification) that supports its talent pipeline.

Vets Now operates as a subsidiary within the Inspiring Vet Care group, owned by IVC Evidensia — the UK's largest veterinary provider, which controls approximately 60% of the UK pet-care market and is the subject of an active Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into corporate consolidation. The company employs 1,000+ staff and holds RCVS accreditation across its Small Animal Emergency Service Clinics. In 2025 it began closing its exotic animal specialty unit (Great Western Exotics), reflecting operational rationalization alongside its core emergency and referral focus.

Name

Vets Now

Legal name

VETS NOW EMERGENCY LIMITED

Website

https://vets-now.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Vets Now is the UK's leading provider of out-of-hours emergency veterinary care for companion animals, operating 60+ clinics and two 24/7 specialist referral hospitals that treat roughly 200,000 pets annually on behalf of 1,300+ partner daytime practices. It is a subsidiary of IVC Evidensia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Veterinary Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194), Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers (621493)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Hospitals (HLAMACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urgent Care Veterinary Clinics (Non-ER) (HLAMAAAD), Veterinary Telemedicine & Virtual Care Platforms (HLAMAMAC)

Keywords

• Emergency veterinary care
• Out-of-hours vet clinics
• Pet emergency services
• Veterinary referral hospitals
• Pet telemedicine consultations

Headquarters

HQ city

Dunfermline

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Emergency Veterinary Consultations: Revenue from emergency out-of-hours consultations at clinics and hospitals when daytime vet practices are closed. Fee-based service model with standard consultation charges.
2. Video Vet Consultations (PawSquad): Pay-as-you-go video consultation service at £28 per session. If referred to Vets Now clinic within 48 hours, consultation fee is deducted from clinic bill (Never Pay Twice offer).
3. Specialist Referral Hospital Services: 24/7 emergency and specialty hospitals in Glasgow and Manchester offering neurology, oncology and other specialist services with advanced diagnostic and surgical capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Vets Now operates the UK's largest dedicated out-of-hours and emergency veterinary care network, comprising more than 60 small-animal emergency clinics supported by two 24/7 specialist referral hospitals located in Glasgow and Manchester. The service is delivered by over 1,000 clinical and support staff and handles approximately 200,000 small animal cases per year. The company extends its offering online through the PawSquad video consultation platform (priced at £28 per session) and operates an in-house veterinary training programme that feeds the clinical workforce.

Product overview

Vets Now is the UK's leading provider of pet emergency care, operating a dual-model system consisting of over 60 out-of-hours emergency clinics that serve pets during nights, weekends, and bank holidays when daytime practices are closed, plus two 24/7 referral hospitals in Glasgow and Manchester offering advanced specialty services in neurology, oncology, and critical care. The company complements its in-person services with PawSquad, a 24/7 video consultation platform enabling remote veterinary advice with a 'Never Pay Twice' guarantee that offsets the £28 online consultation fee against follow-up clinic visits. Vets Now also provides a suite of digital tools including a Pet Symptom Checker (powered by VetHelpDirect), a Chocolate Toxicity Calculator, and an extensive Pet Care Advice content portal covering dogs, cats, small pets, and general animal wellness. The company supports the broader veterinary community through a partner practice program (over 1,600 partners) and professional development offerings including CPD events, webinars, and ECC Congress.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Out-of-Hours Emergency Veterinary Clinics
• 24/7 Specialist Referral Hospitals (Glasgow and Manchester)
• PawSquad Video Vet Consultations
• Partner Practice Network Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Treats 200,000+ small animals annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Daytime Veterinary Practices (UK)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2001Vets Now partners with over 1,300 daytime veterinary practices across the UK to provide out-of-hours emergency care services. When host practices close for the day, weekend, or bank holiday, Vets Now sets up in their clinics. Partner practices delegate emergency coverage to Vets Now.
• IVC EvidensiacoreOthersVets Now is part of IVC Evidensia, the UK's largest veterinary provider. IVC Evidensia is a multinational veterinary conglomerate that has acquired over 1,800 UK veterinary practices. The CMA is investigating corporate consolidation in the veterinary sector.
• PawSquadcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPawSquad is an affiliate company within the Inspiring Vet Care group (same parent as Vets Now). Provides 24/7 video vet consultation services. Vets Now offers 'Never Pay Twice' discount where the £28 PawSquad consultation fee is deducted from Vets Now clinic bills if referred within 48 hours.
• Maven Veterinary CareminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVets Now Sutton is based within Maven Veterinary Care practice in Worcester Park. This is one of many partner practices where Vets Now operates out-of-hours emergency services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CVS Group: CVS Group plc operates one of the largest UK veterinary networks, including small animal hospitals and out-of-hours services. Comparable to Vets Now on scale, multi-site operations, and integration of specialty referral within a national network.
• Medivet: Medivet is a UK-wide veterinary group with a comparable mix of primary care practices, out-of-hours clinics, and referral capability. Its partnership-and-acquisition model and 24-hour coverage strategies directly overlap with Vets Now's approach to UK pet emergency care.
• Vets4Pets: Vets4Pets is the UK veterinary arm of Pets at Home, operating a national network of small animal practices that increasingly include out-of-hours and emergency offerings. It directly competes with Vets Now as a UK-wide companion animal provider leveraging daytime practice and partner-clinic models.
• Linnaeus Veterinary Limited: Linnaeus, owned by Mars Petcare, is a major UK veterinary group focused on specialist referral hospitals and primary care. Its specialty referral hospitals and out-of-hours services directly parallel Vets Now's Glasgow and Manchester 24/7 specialist model.
• VetPartners: VetPartners runs a large network of UK primary care practices and referral centres with multi-disciplinary clinical teams. Overlap with Vets Now on partner practice acquisition strategies, out-of-hours coverage, and specialty hospital delivery.

Emerging players

• PawSquad: PawSquad operates 24/7 video vet consultations and is part of the same Inspiring Vet Care umbrella as Vets Now. Despite the affiliation, it competes in the standalone vet telemedicine space with services that partially overlap and that route users into Vets Now clinics on conversion.

Broad incumbents

• BluePearl Pet Hospital: BluePearl operates a large US network of emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals and is part of Mars Petcare. While US-focused, it is a relevant scale comparable on the emergency-and-specialty model that Vets Now replicates via Glasgow and Manchester.
• VCA Animal Hospitals: VCA is a broad incumbent in North America operating general practice, emergency, and specialty veterinary hospitals. Comparable as a multi-format, multi-site companion animal operator with emergency services, though not UK-based.

Others

• Pet People (Peterborough) / Independent Out-of-Hours Providers: Various independent UK out-of-hours vet providers (e.g., local emergency-only clinics) compete regionally for emergency cases from pet owners whose daytime practices have not partnered with Vets Now. They represent fragmented competition at the local market level.

Regional players

• Veterinary Referral Hospital (VRH) / Dick White Referrals: Dick White Referrals is a UK specialist veterinary referral hospital offering neurology, oncology, surgery, and internal medicine. It competes with Vets Now's Glasgow and Manchester 24/7 referral hospitals for complex specialist cases from daytime practices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/VetsNow
• Instagraminstagram.com/vetsnowuk
• TikToktiktok.com/@vetsnowuk
• Xx.com/VetsNowUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vets-now

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Vets Now