Pets have become big business. So much so that last week private equity giant CVC agreed to buy a majority stake in the vet chain Medivet from rival Inflexion in a deal worth more than £1 billion.
A pandemic-induced boom in pet ownership, along with the availability of more complex procedures and posh pet food, has driven rapid growth among insurers, pet shops and veterinary practices. CVS Group, an Aim-listed owner of vet surgeries, is a way for public market investors to bite into a piece of the action.
Analysts at Peel Hunt suggest that Medivet’s business is less attractive than CVS’s, given that many of its practices operate with a joint venture structure making it harder to create a “collegiate culture”. CVS is also