Veterinary group opens doors to new hospital

A veterinary surgery previously based in Lichfield has opened the doors to its new animal hospital after doubling its capacity and relocating to a new site.

West Midlands Referrals secured a £450,000 loan from Lloyds Bank towards the purchase, renovation and expansion of Errisbeg House, a Victorian manor house in Barton-under-Needwood.

The new site provides more than 1,000 sq m of clinical and administrative space and is more than three times the size of the surgery’s previous facility.

This includes six consulting rooms, four operating theatres and two x-ray rooms.

As well as this, West Midlands Referrals has introduced a new CT scanner and has plans to introduce an MRI scanner in the future. This will enable the business to provide an even wider range of surgical procedures.

West Midlands Referrals, founded by Jon Mills and Andy Whittingham in 2011, performs surgeries and procedures on pets that have been referred by other veterinary practices. It has worked with around 500 veterinary practices across the UK to date, and this number is set to increase thanks to expanded space and facilities.

The veterinary practice is also expanding its team of 13 nurses and six surgeons, recruiting an additional seven nurses and two surgeons over the next 12 months to work at the new surgery.

Mills said: “We have grown beyond all expectations in the eight years since we opened. Our current premises just couldn’t cope with any further increase in workload. We turned to Lloyds Bank to aid our expansion and double our capacity so that we could continue to provide affordable surgery and treatment to save or enhance the lives of people’s pets.

“After purchasing Errisbeg House, we worked closely with Urban Designs, a Burton architectural firm, and A&S Enterprises, a local commercial construction company, to renovate and extend the property and create a really impressive facility.”

Sarah Woodward, healthcare relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Thanks to its customer focused, high-quality service, West Midlands Referrals has been inundated with demand from pet owners right across the UK.

“We’re committed to helping Britain prosper by supporting Midlands businesses of all sectors, so it’s fantastic to see the business expanding with a new site and creating nine new jobs in the region.”