The Pet Vet announces major refinance deal for future growth plans

We've recently completed a £13m refinancing deal with HSBC to support our growth strategy, as well as continued investment within our existing estate of 12 nationwide surgeries.

Established in 2011 by Chairman and Founder Dr Rob Jones MRCVS, The Pet Vet initially grew organically to 4 large surgeries in the South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire regions. In July 2022, we acquired The Vet from CVS, adding a further 8 surgeries and establishing a national presence.

After the acquisition, we focused on restructuring our operating model to optimise efficiencies, creating new career pathways for clinical and non-clinical colleagues, and investing in new equipment for in-house advanced services.

To complete the integration of the 8 The Vet surgeries, a 10-month re-branding project commenced, completing in February 2025.

With a refinancing deal now secured with HSBC, facilitated by Castle Square Corporate Finance and with the assistance of Race FD Solutions and Parsons Accountants, this marks the start of an exciting period of growth. We're looking to secure new surgery sites, bringing our exceptional clinical care and 5-star customer service to more pet owners across the UK. We'll also continue investing in our existing estate, developing services to provide customers with greater choice of veterinary care in their local area, and tailoring our offering to suit the needs of each local community; just a couple of the many benefits of not being governed by a corporate entity.

The Pet Vet's value proposition will continue to be of paramount importance in recognition of the cost of pet ownership. We offer:

• Fair value pricing, which is reviewed quarterly and unlike 80% of surgeries checked by the CMA, published on our website.
• A range of Pet Health Plans enabling customers to save up to 70% off the cost of their pet’s preventive healthcare and receive direct delivery of their pet’s routine antiparasitic medication.
• Customers the opportunity to apply for interest-free finance plans via Carefree Credit.
• Ongoing 10% discount for over 60s, Armed Forces & Blue Light workers.

Our business model and continuous investment attract market-leading veterinary colleagues, and give us capacity and capability to perform advanced in-house diagnostics and treatment, under the same roof as our GP services. This offers customers alternative provision to external referral centres, including:

• Orthopaedics
• CT scanning
• Ophthalmology
• Cardiology
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
• Acupuncture
• Complex dentistry

For added customer convenience and wrap-around patient care, we're open 364 days a year, offering home visits, late night appointments and overnight hospitalisation.

On the recent refinancing, Dr Mel Fuller, CEO, says: “We’re thrilled to have secured funding through HSBC to support our future growth aspirations. As we expand, our tried and tested model will provide the blueprint for establishing successful new surgeries to complement our existing estate.”  

While we have ambitious plans for future growth, Chairman & Founder Dr Rob Jones is resolute in his desire for The Pet Vet to remain an independent, family-owned business for generations to come, as emphasised by the maxim ‘Your independent family vet. Always.’

Rob says: “There's huge ambition for us to be able to offer more advanced treatments, unlock the use of technology to further enhance our customer service and patient care, and to reach new communities. Our aim is to deliver exceptional clinical standards in state-of-the-art surgeries, whilst maintaining our caring, compassionate culture that meets the needs of each local community.”