15 May 2026
People sit at the centre of everything the Brannam Vets team does and is trying to achieve – clients, staff, team. VBJ pays a visit to this new north Devon practice to discover why this is so important…
VBJ
Job Title
Image: Brannam Vets
Staff: full-time vets 2 | registered veterinary nurses 3 | practice administrator 2
Fees: initial consult £54 | follow-up £49
Traditionally modern. If ever there was a veterinary centre this phrase sums up, it’s the newly created Brannam Vets in north Devon.
Launched in November last year, after a whirlwind turnaround to open, Brannam combines traditional core values woven around spangly purpose-built premises oozing warmth, with people right at heart.
A real family affair, the independent practice is run by director Steve Headon, along with directors and vets Ruth Ferguson and Steve’s wife, Rachael Headon. Ruth’s vet husband, Craig, is also part of the team and the practice has tried to stick to a policy of only employing people at least one of the directors already knows and has worked with. That’s how important the people factor is.
Steve worked as a veterinary specialist accountant for 16 years, but decided he wanted a new challenge so left his post two years ago with no plans.
Steve said: “I wanted a new challenge; there was a lot of travel involved and we have quite a young family. It now looks like I left with this in mind, but that wasn’t the case. When I left I was like, ‘I’m just going to take a period of time out and will then take on a new challenge, possibly a different industry, possibly not’.”
Steve, who knew Ruth through her work with Rachael, had a couple of brief conversations with Ruth skimming the idea of opening a practice, but nothing more. Then during Christmas 2024, Steve asked her when she was going to think of starting this practice and said he would do it with her if she liked.
Steve added: “I think the two of us have got to accept responsibility. You really had put it to bed, hadn’t you, Ruth?”
“Yeah. I just knew it wasn’t possible as a singular,” admitted Ruth. “And the hard part was finding premises.”
Usually a process which takes a good few years to execute, the creation of Brannam Vets did not comply. From that initial idea mentioned in December 2024, the decision was made at Easter 2025, premises were found, the build was fabricated and in November 2025 the doors opened.
“It all came together very quickly,” said Ruth. “We went from first conversations to opening the doors in 11 months, which is pretty crazy.
“I think we all felt we wanted to do it. Both families have got young children and you realise there’s not going to be a better time in terms of public demand. We just needed to crack on. I think everything just aligned.”
Steve brings the financial expertise to the table, although he says he is absolutely not a practice manager – his worth is operations and finance. He oversaw the entire build and fit of the interior space and brings a different perspective day-to-day.
After the initial decision to proceed with the business, then followed much drawing on paper to create the perfect interior at the business unit that is situated near to several towns and conveniently on a main A-road – where the Brannam Vets signage can be seen clearly. The team bit the bullet and resolved to take two units instead of one to enable it to spread out and to future-proof the space for expansion.
As far as recruitment went, that was a no-brainer with Ruth and Rachael lining up their staff at the outset.
Ruth recalled: “We didn’t advertise at all. Everyone who we had come to work for us are people we already know, so it was good in terms of familiarity.
“I think we all were fairly clear on how we wanted it [the layout] to flow. But then there were the details of positioning the sinks – they hadn’t allowed for anywhere near as many sinks as we needed. You cannot believe how many sinks a practice needs. It’s nuts, but it’s necessary.”
Having been a clinical director at another practice, Ruth relished the opportunity to break free of the ties that come with being employed.
She said: “I found being a clinical director immensely frustrating. You’ve got all the stress and the responsibility, but you can’t change anything. So you may as well be your own boss and actually be able to change stuff and do it as you want.”
With two empty units providing a blank canvas, the team had complete flexibility when it came to layout and design, while the equipment needed was funded through borrowing by the company itself.
The layout of Brannam Vets is an ideal structure of rooms, facilities and design, the end result of many hours spent thinking it through. An open and warm reception area decorated in homely colours of apricot and blue welcomes clients and patients, with American diner-style seating made especially for comfort, and split into separate cat and dog areas.
The building, which is fully air-conditioned so the temperature can be controlled in each individual room, comprises two operating threatres, four consult rooms, a dental suite with dental x-ray, digital x-ray, ultrasound, separate dog and cat wards, an isolation ward and a laboratory, all with equipment purchased by the company with the funding that was put in place at the outset.
Leading from the inviting reception area, the ground floor rooms are designed in a circular route with the first floor housing a spacious kitchen and rest area as well as two offices and the all-important storage areas… for the Christmas decorations, according to Steve.
While the practice was still a building site, the opening was announced on social media as well as at a trade stand at the North Devon Show and, if the team was concerned about attracting clients, it need not have been, with around 400 pets pre-registering.
Steve explained: “It staggered me that we had told the world we were coming, we told them the reasons, and we told them where the building was going to be. We hadn’t told people anything about our pricing. And yet people were signing up. That says enough.
“I think it’s fair to say that the recent CMA and media interest in the veterinary sector has massively worked in our favour because the public are looking for something different.”
Again, with Brannam, it comes down to people. The relationship between the vet, the practice staff and the clients. The overall aim for the new business was to create a place where that relationship is at the heart of everything. The trust the client has with the team is what is number one, along with consistency within that team.
Elaborating, Steve added: “We’ve got such an experienced team, but it’s not just that, it’s the way it is with the clients. And continuity is important, it’s something we have embedded – we want that continuity for people to get to know one or two vets, we don’t want people coming in four times and seeing all four vets; we want them to build a relationship with one or two vets.
“Our reception staff are immensely knowledgeable too and are also very friendly, something clients comment on. I think receptionists are still very undervalued in veterinary practice and they are the first impression, the first point of contact.”
Brannam Vets’ ethos is to provide a good experienced GP practice at a more affordable cost.
Steve explained: “We have more control being an independent. We know that the prices are very defendable in terms of where they’re set. That’s hard to not make that sound like we’re attacking the corporates, but it’s a really, really important thing. And it’s a really tricky thing to get right for all parties. But it’s also about working efficiently.
“Clients feel like they’re paying a lot less, but actually what people are looking for is that clarity, that feeling they’re being treated fairly.”
A huge decision when setting the pricing was to make the initial consultation for everyone free – the first time anyone walks through the doors to Brannam, their consultation will not be charged for. It was a strategic choice to get people through the door and to help grow the business.
“We’re trying to build a long-term relationship,” Steve explained. “So, essentially, giving them 15 minutes of our time seems like the right thing to do as a good investment for the long term as that’s what’s important, and it’s been really well received.”
Looking after the team and making sure they feel included is also high on the agenda, with regular staff meetings held.
“We want to hear their voice because they’ve all got so much experience, so much value, we would be stupid to ignore them because they can offer so much,” said Steve.
Brannam Vets sources its out-of-hours work to a local provider, a decision taken to keep the new team happy, with the directors realising early on that not working weekends was high on the list of priorities for staff, many of whom have young families.
Steve added: “We want to create a sustainable practice and we’re all of the same view that if you have good staff and provide a really good service, the rest will take care of itself.”
Building a solid client base is the current phase for the Brannam team; and slowly increasing their vets from two full-time to around four is the aim.
“It’s one of those funny things, I spent years of my life doing financial projections, but one thing you can guarantee is what you projected for won’t happen,” Steve laughed.
“We’ve got no grand plans, but I think we all feel that if we could get to four or five full-time vets over two to three years, that would just be a really nice place to be. It just creates a big enough team, more sustainable if somebody needs to take a period of time out for any reason or has to move on. The team can sustain that, whereas we’re very aware at the moment we’re in a delicate position.”
The plan for the future is subtle and steady because the traditional core values of building proper relationships with clients and creating a solid team is the essence of Brannam Vets.
“We want to retain what we’re trying to build now, that’s the most important thing. I’ve seen some practices grow and go for world domination, but that’s not what we’re about because, if we grew massive, we would completely lose all of those things. And those are all the things that make it nice to come into work – having a relationship with your clients and knowing who they are.”