27 Jul 2026
During his long and distinguished career, John Sauvage has certainly learned a thing or two about owning and running successful practices. But with money in the bank and his reputation secured, why has this storied veterinary veteran decided to step back into the fray? VBJ paid a visit to Cranbrook Vets in Kent to find out…
VBJ
Job Title
Staff: full-time vets 2 | registered veterinary nurses 3 | student nurses 1 | care assistants 1 | practice managers 1 Fees: initial consult £39 | follow-up £35
Veterinary cardiologist, business consultant, author, public speaker and Vet Times columnist are just a few of the many entries in the burgeoning CV of Mr John Phillip Sauvage.
To summarise from his well-received 2021 autobiography, John has practised veterinary medicine for more than 50 years across the UK while his skills have also taken him further afield – including a stint in east Africa.
But it is Kent where John is best known and it was the “Garden of England” where he ultimately put down his roots as a clinician and practice owner.
However, a keen taste for adventure first took him to Uganda during his final year at the RVC in 1973 to undertake research under the auspices of the infamous Idi Amin before his wanderlust cooled and he decided to return to the UK to join a mixed practice in Gloucestershire.
An equine and small animal practice in Maidstone was John’s next port of call where he spent a number of years until the chance arrived to buy into another Kent practice, Pierson Stewart and Partners, a move that would ultimately define his career as one of the UK’s leading veterinary entrepreneurs.
A well-established business with a history going back to the early 1940s, Pierson Stewart started as a mixed rural practice treating everything from domestic family pets to horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry.
During the post-war era it was a typical approach and one that was essential at a time when the county was still heavily reliant on its agricultural economy. But when John joined the ranks in the early 1980s, the practice had evolved to become a primarily small animal operation and one of the earliest examplars of the “hub and spoke” model.
During its heyday Pierson Stewart had sites at Headcorn, Marden, Staplehurst and Tenterden, all based around its historic headquarters at Brooksden on the High Street in Cranbrook.
As a first-rate vet with interests in cardiology and dentistry, the business thrived and John’s influence continued to grow to the point where he became the sole partner of the practice in the early 2000’s.
By 2017 John was in his late 60s and it was then that Medivet stepped in during one of the early corporate ‘buying bubbles’ to make the kind of offer that convinced him the time was right to cash in his chips.
However, the small animal landscape has changed significantly since then and with recruitment an ongoing issue in this corner of the world, one by one, Medivet closed all the Pierson Stewart sites – including the main Cranbrook hub.
It seemed the end of the road for the much-loved practice group, but for an experienced practice owner like John, the chance to give it one more go proved to be too good an opportunity to miss.
He said: “Without going into too much detail, Medivet had closed all the practices, and wanted to get rid of this site too; that was in 2024. I still owned the building, so we came to an agreement with them to pay up their remaining rent and move aside so we could open Cranbrook as a standalone, independent practice.
“There was a bit of back and forth, as you can imagine, but we made an agreement and that left us with pretty much an empty shell to work with and we got on with the job of getting this place back up and running properly.”
Based in an old doctor’s surgery, there has been a veterinary practice in this grand 19th century stone building since 1943 and having an intimate knowledge of the site from his decades as partner and owner meant John had a clear idea of what was needed for the reboot.
But coming out of semi-retirement and going it alone was never part of the plan, as John explained. “There was a great opportunity to revitalise Cranbrook as a standalone independent, but I was aware that it would be a lot of work and a significant investment.
“The first thing I knew we needed was an entrepreneurial vet who could work at a high clinical standard and through contacts I was put in touch with Mandy Sommacal, an experienced vet with a surgery certificate who had been looking to take the step into ownership for a number of years.
“My daughter, Rhianna, was also keen to get involved again. She first worked at the practice as practice manager before its sale to Medivet, where she gained valuable experience while also studying for a BA (Hons) in Leadership and Management with The Open University.”
After taking a break from the veterinary industry, Rhianna went on to build a successful career with Bupa Dental Care, spending seven years as a practice manager and progressing to the role of dual site manager, leading multiple teams and developing her operational and leadership expertise.
John added: “The fourth director of the business – alongside myself, Mandy and Rhianna – is Chloe Smith, an advanced veterinary nurse, with an exotics certification and SQP.
“Between us we had the skills needed and were able to raise the capital to get the show back on the road.”
In total John estimates the investment to get the building back in business was a little short of £800,000, which paid for a complete refit of the customer-facing areas and an extensive refurbishment of the clinical areas too.
With the deal to take over the site from Medivet completed in June 2025, work began later the same month. John worked with Burtons to develop the plans for the building as well as the clinical refit, which proved to be an extensive job and included fitting new wall cladding, new floors, air conditioning and piped gas.
The practice also needed an entirely new suite of surgical equipment and now boasts a well-appointed surgical theatre, dental theatre, prep area and separate imaging suite – complete with digital x-ray, paid for in part with the help of a £20,000 rural business grant from Kent County Council.
Despite the extent of the refit, the practice opened for business on 14 July – Bastille Day – the point at which John jokes he “put his own head back on the block”.
Thankfully for all concerned, John’s head is still very much on his shoulders, the work went well and Cranbrook was up and running with its two consult rooms busy from day one and plans in place for more to come online as the business grows.
There is now a large reception space with clients moving off to adjacent waiting rooms that are split into separate cat and dog waiting areas.
The practice also boasts a big car park while the large roadside sign proudly proclaims that Cranbrook is in independent hands once more.
While there is still work to be done – including adding in a separate cat ward – the extensive work that has been completed makes the most of a glorious historical building packed full of wonderful architectural features.
The original fireplace sits front and centre in the entrance lobby while much of the original decorative plasterwork and stonework tracery has been sympathetically retained throughout the client-facing areas.
It all makes for a uniquely characterful environment for clients and an enriching place to work for the clinical team, which now consists of two vets, three vet nurses, one student nurse and an animal care assistant.
Lead vet Mandy said: “The building is an incredible space, and it was a wonderful opportunity to play a part in bringing it back to life as a veterinary practice. I had looked at several joint venture partnerships, but, for one reason or another, nothing came of it, so when I spoke to John, I was very eager to get involved.
“There are obviously challenges with any new venture and we have had a few headaches, but we had clients from day one and that number is growing every day.
”Being independent also means a lot to me as it gives me the freedom to work in the way I want to work and to deliver the best care we can for our clients.”
One of the things the team did to attract pet owners was to offer heavily discounted dentals with a scale and polish costing just £175. John admits the price is not sustainable, but it did serve to bring the clients in, and Cranbrook now has 900 registered clients on its books with more signing up every day. Clients booking a consult are charged a small deposit, a measure John hopes will help them avoid bad debt. “Generally, clients are good at paying their bills, but in our position, the last thing we need is for clients to be booking our time and not showing up as it costs us money and causes a lot of disruption,” he said.
“So, we charge everyone £20 up front and so far, it has helped us avoid some of those no shows that can really cause issues in the early days of a practice.
“It is going to take us a little time to get to where we need to be in terms of revenue, but the figures are all heading in the right direction and I am confident that our client base will only continue to grow.
“It has been very rewarding getting involved in the ownership side of things again, but the biggest thing is being able to work with the next generation and to be able to use my expertise to help them – together I am convinced we will be able to build a bright future for Cranbrook Vets.”