7 Sept 2023
Authority seeking views from owners, veterinary professionals and businesses after identifying £2 billion sector for review of consumer experiences and business practices.
Paul Imrie
Job TitleCompetition regulators are probing how UK veterinary services are bought and sold amid fears pet owners “may not be getting a good deal”.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which had already acted on several vet practice acquisitions by major vet groups, today (7 September) announced a review of the entire £2 billion veterinary services market.
In a release announcing its review, the CMA said it would look at consumer experiences and business practices in the provision of veterinary services for household pets in the UK.
One paragraph in its announcement stated: “Figures suggest that the cost of vet services has risen faster than the rate of inflation.”
It also suggested pet owners “may not find it easy to access the information they need about prices and treatment options to make good choices about which vet to use and which services to purchase”.
When announcing its review – which will seek views from veterinary professionals, business owners as well as pet owners themselves – the CMA highlighted the change in practice ownership in the past decade, while the phrase “pet owners may not be getting a good deal“ is within the opening paragraph.
It cites the number of independent practices as having halved in eight years – from 89% in 2013 to 45% in 2021 – and that “in some cases, a single company may own hundreds of practices and it may be unclear to people whether their vet is part of a large group”.
The CMA’s release added: “People may also be unaware if their vet is part of a group which owns other vet practices in their area or that the services which are being sold to them (such as diagnostic tests or treatments at a specialist animal hospital) are provided by that group.
“This could impact pet owners’ choices and reduce the incentives of local vet practices to compete.”
Responding to today’s announcement, the BVA welcomed the review, but its president Malcolm Morley said the association had “not seen any hard data or real evidence to suggest that corporatisation is driving up prices or negatively impacting quality of care”.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “Caring for an ill pet can create real financial pressure – particularly alongside other cost of living concerns. It’s really important that people get clear information and pricing to help them make the right choices.
“There has been a lot of consolidation in the vet industry in recent years, so now is the right time to take a look at how the market is working.
“When a pet is unwell, they often need urgent treatment, which means that pet owners may not shop around for the best deal like they do with other services.
“This means they may not have the relevant information to make informed decisions at what can be a distressing time. We want to hear from pet owners and people who work in the sector about their experiences.”
Responding to the CMA announcement, Dr Morley said: “The veterinary sector has undergone significant changes in recent years, with the growth of large veterinary corporates operating alongside independent vet practices. At the BVA, which represents more than 19,000 vets, we support healthy competition, giving clients as wide a choice of vet practices as possible so they can find a service that best suits the needs of themselves and their animals.
“Sadly, soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis is impacting both pet owners and business, including vet practices. However, we’ve not seen any hard data or real evidence to suggest that corporatisation is driving up prices or negatively impacting quality of care. We welcome the CMA’s review and look forward to seeing its findings in due course.”
As part of its consultation, the CMA said it was keen to hear about pet owners’ and vet practitioners’ experiences of:
In its annual plan for 2023-24, the CMA said it planned to act in areas of essential spending and “where people are under particular financial pressure, such as accommodation and caring for ourselves and others”.
Separate practice acquisition deals involving Medivet, VetPartners, CVS, and IVC Evidensia have all been investigated and ruled on by the CMA in the past 12 months or so.
The CMA said it will provide a further update on its latest review of the sector early in 2023, when it will outline issues it has identified and its proposed next steps.
UPDATE 11:40am: Speaking at today’s RCVS council meeting, chief executive Lizzie Lockett said the college would provide the CMA with any relevant information, while she also reiterated the college’s long-standing hopes for mandatory regulation of practices under the Practice Standards Scheme.
