20 Oct 2023
Creature Comforts, co-founded by vet Russell Welsh, says it is on a ”mission to radically improve working life for vets and give pet owners fast access to unlimited care”.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Daniel Attia (left) and Russell Welsh.
A pet tech start-up says it has raised £7 million in seed capital to kick-start its plans to open its first two clinics in London.
Creature Comforts, co-founded by vet Russell Welsh, says it is on a “mission to radically improve working life for vets and to give pet owners fast access to unlimited care” and was aiming to “redesign the veterinary care experience in an industry struggling to keep up with demand”.
The cash injection will be used to design, open and staff its first two clinics, with the first due to open in St John’s Wood early next year and a second following in a prime London location.
But the cash will also fund the build of a proprietary app by an in-house tech team, which will support 24/7 virtual care, which it says will allow vets to work flexibly from home and give pet owners fast and unlimited round-the-clock access to expertise.
The seed round was co-led by Torch Capital, Hanaco VC and Boost Capital Partners, with Active Partners, Tarek Abuzayyad of Initial Capital and Steve Rosengarten of Vet One also providing capital.
Creature Comforts said it was aiming to deliver a “best-in-class clinic experience” through the design of the clinics and would operate a monthly subscription model, as well as a pay-as-you-go scheme.
Dr Welsh was previously co-owner of 33-site Village Vet and is chief operating officer of Creature Comforts. Fellow co-founder, chief executive Daniel Attia, has previously raised US$23 million (£19 million) from investment arm Saville to build online estate agency Yopa.
Dr Welsh said: “Our goal is healthier pets and happier vets. We want to fix the state of affairs for animals, customers and veterinary teams all at the same time, because right now, no one is winning.
“When you can access it, vet care in the UK is almost always exemplary, but the experience around it is broken.”
Dr Welsh added: “Every day, pet owners are struggling with a lack of continuity of service, glitchy tech, inconsistent pricing, and operational inefficiencies. And vets are struggling with unsustainable caseloads and chronic stress.
“There’s clearly room for a new veterinary care experience offering world-class customer service and working conditions for vets and their hardworking teams. Because we know that when employees are happy, their customers – both human and non-human – are happy, too.”
