UK vets face price caps after competition review

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The competition watchdog has found that the regulatory system for vets in the UK is “not fit for purpose” and that veterinary companies are charging pet owners double the price of prescription medicines from online pharmacies.

The Competition and Markets Authority made the findings as it proposed major reforms for UK veterinary businesses, including prescription price caps and a new regulatory regime.

The CMA’s investigation into the £6.3bn sector raised concerns about a lack of competition in the market, concluding that average prices rose by 63 per cent between 2016 and 2023 – well above the rate of inflation.

“For a large portion of the market, profits are much higher than we would expect if the competition was doing well.” Capital Market Authority She said this when she published her interim decisions after the investigation into this sector.

The watchdog’s investigation, which began in May 2024, comes as the “bundling” of thousands of small clinics by large companies and private equity investors has raised concerns about rising drug prices. Medications and treatments.

Six vet chains – CVS Group, IVC Evidensia, Pets at Home, VetPartners, Medivet and Linnaeus – have bought 1,500 of the UK’s nearly 5,000 clinics over the past decade. Sixty percent of veterinary practices are owned by large corporations, compared to 10 percent in 2013.

The CMA found that pet owners pay nearly 17 percent more on average at large vet groups than independent vets.

In a list of 21 proposed treatments, the CMA said veterinary practices should be forced to publish comprehensive price lists and clarify whether they are part of a larger corporate group.

The results of the investigation are closely monitored in the industry. London-listed CVS said earlier this year that it had frozen all UK deals until the outcome of the investigation was clear.

IVC Evidensia, which is backed by private equity group EQT and is exploring the possibility of a London stock market listing, previously warned that the investigation had led to an outflow of investment from the UK vets market.

The CMA found that the current regulatory regime for vets, established in 1966, was not fit for purpose because it regulates individual vets, not the large companies that manage them. The watchdog recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the system and “long overdue” new legislation to enforce it.