Pets at Home snaps up Vets4Pets
PETS at Home, the specialist retailer, is buying Vets4Pets in a deal which will add a further 90 practices to the business.
Vets4Pets was founded in 2001 by former Vision Express executive Peter Watson. Financial terms were not disclosed by a price tag of between £30m to £50m has been mooted.
Pets at Home, which is backed by US private equity giant KKR has its headquarters in Handforth, Cheshire and operates 346 stores nationwide. It has veterinary practices in 116 shops under the Companion Care brand.
Offering customers the services of a vet is an important strategic goal. Chief executive Nick Wood says that eventually Pets at Home may have more vets’ practices than stores.
“In the future, the opportunity for Pets at Home is to have more vet, and potential vet locations than store locations.”
As well as having a veterinary offering in each store, the group could offer stand-alone vets’ practices, Mr Wood said.
Guernsey-based Mr Watson is expected to remain with the enlarged business, while Vets4Pets’ operational base will remain in the East Midlands.
The enlarged veterinary services division will have annual sales of £100m and trade from 210 sites.
Pets at Home sees offering services such as vets and in-store grooming salons, as being a key differentiator, and by making its stores a destination, will help shield it from price competition online and from the larger supermarkets.
