Mazars supports veterinary group with £10m growth programme

THE Central Region corporate finance team at Mazars in Birmingham has helped a veterinary group with a major expansion.

Companion Care (Services) Ltd, a subsidiary of Pets at Home, is using a £10m finance facility agreed with The Co-operative Bank to fund the programme. It is aiming to open more than 30 veterinary practices, some of them in Pets at Home stores, across the UK.

Companion Care offers joint venture partners support which allows them to develop their career as a veterinary director, with complete clinical freedom and the full backing of a team of experts.

Stephen Harris, Mazars corporate finance director, said: “This organisation has proved that its business model is spot-on after growing its turnover from nothing to reach £57m over the past 12 years.

“It now employs 1,200 people and was named as one of the Sunday Times ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ in 2013. We were delighted when The Co-operative Bank agreed to lend them £10m to open at least 30 new branches, many of which will be in Pets at Home retail stores.

“This growth will create on average seven new jobs at each practice, and it is anticipated that more than 200 jobs will be created over the next two years.”

Jane Balmain, managing director of Companion Care said: “The success of our joint venture partnership model has been proven by the continued success of our network of surgeries and our continued expansion across the UK. Our formula has already made us one of the UK’s leading providers of small animal veterinary services, and it is bucking the trend of flat growth in the sector.”

Nick Johnson, corporate finance partner leading Mazars Central Region, said: “This latest success for Mazars central region corporate finance team follows the arrangement of a £2.5m finance package from the Business Growth Fund for Milton Keynes software company Celaton.

“It demonstrates two things – that there is an appetite for growth out there among the UK’s most proactive SMEs, and that funding is available for the right proposals, presented in a comprehensive and professional manner.”

Steve Bateman, from The Co-operative Bank’s Oxford corporate banking centre, said: “Over 12 years, Companion Care has used a business model which has proven to be robust and incredibly successful. The company has opened new veterinary practices year after year and have ambitious plans for the future, which we are delighted to support.”