Business & Finance
UK watchdog alters vet ownership rules despite criticism from veterinary group
The CMA modified disclosure rules to allow vet practices to display recognized network or brand names rather than ultimate corporate parent companies.
The short version
- The Competition and Markets Authority changed proposed rules, allowing veterinary practices to disclose intermediate brand or network names instead of their ultimate corporate parents.
- A coalition of veterinarians, the Progressive Veterinary Association, warned the change obscures corporate ownership and threatened a judicial review.
- Over 60% of UK veterinary practices are controlled by six major groups, where clients pay an average of 16.6% more than at independent clinics.
Key facts
- The Competition and Markets Authority updated proposed disclosure rules from requiring the name of the 'corporate vet group' to allowing the use of a 'network or group' or brand name.[The Guardian]
- Six major entities—CVS, Pets at Home, Medivet, IVC, VetPartners, and Linnaeus—own all or part of more than 60% of veterinary practices in the UK.[The Guardian]
- A CMA investigation found that pet owners pay 16.6% more on average at large corporate veterinary groups compared to independent practices in the £6.3 billion market.[The Guardian]
- The Progressive Veterinary Association threatened a judicial review over the modified wording, arguing it lets multinational firms conceal ultimate ownership.[The Guardian]
- The CMA stated that recognizable brand names offer clearer information to consumers than potentially unfamiliar corporate parent entity names.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- Whether the Progressive Veterinary Association will formally file and proceed with its threatened judicial review against the regulator.[The Guardian]