The Competition and Markets Authority changed its rules so vet practices no longer must disclose the ultimate parent company that owns them, allowing corporates to list a high-street brand or the original practice name instead of the multinational owner. The CMA said its investigation found the £6.3bn veterinary market is not fit for purpose, and that customers pay 16.6 percent more at large vet groups than at independent practices. More than 60 percent of UK veterinary practices are owned wholly or partly by six groups, named in the CMA report as CVS, Pets at Home, Medivet, IVC, VetPartners, and Linnaeus, the last of which is owned by Mars Petcare. The Progressive Veterinary Association has threatened a judicial review after the CMA softened the required wording from naming the “corporate vet group” to naming the “network or group,” which vets say permits concealment of ultimate owners. Dr Iain McGill of the PVA said the change lets large corporations hide that they control local clinics and warned it is bad news for pet owners and animals. The CMA responded that ultimate parent names may be unrecognisable and not meaningfully helpful to pet owners; the PVA contends owners have a right to that information. The earlier white paper that prompted the rules also proposed capping pet prescription charges at £21 and greater transparency, but vets say the wording change undermines the transparency commitment.
