The UK’s large veterinary groups have welcomed the Competition and Markets Authority’s final Order from its investigation into veterinary services for household pets, and CVS Group is preparing to buy UK practices again, Vet Times reported on 12 October. The CMA published the Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order in September, six months after its final report, and on 13 October issued guidance on when businesses must comply.

Paul Higgs, chief veterinary officer at CVS Group, told Vet Times there may have been a misunderstanding early on that the CMA was investigating the large groups. He said the inquiry concerned veterinary services for household pets, prompted by concern that owners could not choose a practice on price or on knowledge of who owns it, and that the profession had become a little confused about that. He described the final orders as more manageable than the draft and said he expected only minor shifts in ways of working.

What the groups said

Andrew McVey, partner council chairperson at Medivet and Partners, welcomed the requirement for practices to display posters about medicine pricing, which Vet Times said had drawn particular ire, and said the remedies bring corporate groups into line with how his partnership already operates. Linnaeus welcomed what it called clear parameters and transition timelines for the sector. Inspiring Vet Care said it welcomed the certainty of the orders and was well advanced in putting them in place. Vets for Pets said the conclusion brought clarity and closure and that it would support its practice owners in meeting the requirements. VetPartners declined to comment.

Not everyone shares the welcome. Vet Times said the orders have been widely criticised for their disproportionate impact on independent practices and for not curbing the growth of corporate ownership.

Deals and deadlines

CVS’s final results for the year to 30 June 2026, published on 24 September, say attractive UK acquisition opportunities are starting to materialise. The group has exchanged contracts on a two-site UK practice with nine full-time equivalent vets for an initial £15.0m, expects to deploy about £50m a year on acquisitions, subject to timing and suitable opportunities, and puts its UK market share at about 8% to 9%. It reported £5.1m of remedy implementation costs within exceptional items and said the CMA’s final remedies order, published on 22 September, was in line with its expectations. Chief executive Richard Fairman told Vet Times the group had stopped acquiring in the UK during the investigation and would be selective as it resumed.

The CMA’s guidance for large businesses, those with 15 or more practices, sets five deadlines from September 2026 to September 2027. Limits on notice periods in out-of-hours contracts already apply. Practice information, price lists, parasiticide price lists, pet care plans and cremation prices are due from the next working day after 22 December 2026; ownership information, prescription fees and complaint handling after 22 March 2027; and written estimates, itemised bills and written prescriptions after 22 June 2027. Businesses with 14 or fewer practices make the same changes against four deadlines.

Owners’ views point the same way. A survey of 2,000 respondents by pet retailer Jollyes, carried out in January 2026 and reported by GlobalPETS on 16 October, found 92% supported requiring clinics to display prices for key treatments and 63% believed veterinary groups should offer standardised pricing nationwide.

Equanine’s reading

  • With the investigation closed and CVS budgeting about £50m a year for acquisitions, owners of independent practices thinking about a sale should expect more approaches. The cost of meeting the December and March deadlines is likely to feature in what buyers offer.
  • CVS put its own remedy costs at £5.1m in a year. Smaller businesses have longer to comply but face the same requirements; if, as critics cited by Vet Times argue, the orders weigh disproportionately on independents, compliance cost could become a reason to sell.
  • Medivet’s argument that the remedies match its existing model suggests groups will compete on how they present ownership and prices to clients, not only on clinical services. Suppliers whose business leans on independent practices should watch for consolidation.