The greatconsolidation
How corporate ownership transformed UK veterinary care in a decade
From independent to corporate
A decade ago, independent vets dominated UK veterinary care. Today, six large groups control the majority.
Who owns UK veterinary care
Six corporate groups now control the majority of practices. Size represents number of practices.
Counted within corporate above are 851 locally-run joint-venture practices (Vets4Pets / Companion Care), where a local partner co-owns the practice and sets their own prices. They remain corporate because Pets at Home Group plc still co-owns them.
The cost of consolidation
Veterinary prices have risen nearly twice as fast as general inflation.
A £7.5 billion industry
The UK veterinary market has grown significantly since 2010.
Regional ownership
Based on 7,602 practices in our database
Can you see what you'll pay?
The CMA found that less than 40% of practices publish prices on their websites, and that most owners don't know who owns their vet.
of people using a large veterinary group knew their practice was part of a chain.
Source: CMA market investigation, final report (March 2026)
From automated detection across practice websites in our database, we find a published price list on 64% of practices with a website, in line with the CMA's finding that under 40% show prices online. The figure is a floor: prices behind client portals or PDFs aren't counted.
How we got here
The consolidation of UK veterinary care, year by year.
Data sources
Regional ownership reports
Each region has its own breakdown of corporate consolidation, with key figures, town-level tables and a downloadable CSV. Reports are free to cite with a link.
- South East (65% corporate)
- South West (60% corporate)
- North West (65% corporate)
- East of England (61% corporate)
- Scotland (57% corporate)
- Yorkshire (65% corporate)
- West Midlands (70% corporate)
- London (57% corporate)
- East Midlands (70% corporate)
- North East (65% corporate)
- South Wales (60% corporate)
- Northern Ireland (42% corporate)
- Mid Wales (32% corporate)
- North Wales (39% corporate)