11 Jan 2023
The company, which employs around 8,000 people across the UK and Europe, has declined to comment on reports suggesting it could be sold later this year.
Allister Webb
Job Title
VetPartners bosses have remained tight-lipped following claims that it could be sold later this year in a deal that could be worth at least £3 billion.
Sky News has reported that the firm’s current owners, BC Partners, have appointed JP Morgan and Jefferies to lead a potential sale process.
The move comes five years after BC Partners acquired the York-based company in a deal worth around £700 million.
A VetPartners spokesperson declined to comment on the reports when approached by Vet Times, while BC Partners has also not commented publicly so far.
Around 8,000 staff work for VetPartners in practices and other veterinary businesses across the UK and Europe.
The firm has more than doubled its staffing levels under BC Partners’ ownership and now has premises in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, as well as the UK.
In its latest annual accounts, for the year to the end of June 2021, VetPartners recorded a pre-tax loss of around £13.1 million, down from almost £31 million the previous year.
But operating profits more than doubled to £44.4 million over the same period and revenues climbed by more than a quarter to just over £430 million.
Results for the year to the end of June 2022 are due to be filed by the end of March.
