VetPartners acquires Isabelle Vets
Both Munn-Littena and Heathcote will remain as practice leaders with their established team of 45 colleagues, including 11 vets
VetPartners has announced the acquisition of Guernsey’s oldest veterinary practice, Isabelle Vets.
Isabelle Vets, which has been looking after Guernsey’s pets, farm animals and horses since 1919, is the first veterinary practice from the island to join VetPartners.
Led by vets, VetPartners was established by CEO Jo Malone in November 2015 in York and has three practices in the North of England.
Some of Europe’s “most respected” and “trusted” small animal, equine, mixed and farm practices and animal healthcare companies are part of VetPartners, which has 11,000 employees working across 700 sites.
New Era Vets in Jersey became VetPartners’ first Channel Islands practice in November 2019.
As part of the acquisition, Isabelle Vets’ will still be able to retain the same staff at their main practice in Route Isabelle in St Peter Port and branch surgery in L’Islet in St Sampsons.
According to Isabelle Vets, it is also looking forward to “fresh” opportunities for investment, career development for colleagues and expansion of facilities that will come with being part of a larger veterinary group.
Isabelle Vets directors Doreen Munn-Litten and Sarah-Jane Heathcote have run the practice in joint partnership for the last three years.
Munn-Litten, a surgeon, graduated from Glasgow University in 1995, and holds a Certificate in Small Animal Surgery. She has been a director of the practice since 2012.
Heathcote graduated from Liverpool University in 1999, and primarily focuses on looking after Guernsey’s horses. She joined as a director in 2015, and holds a certificate in equine dentistry.
Both Munn-Littena and Heathcote will remain as practice leaders with their established team of 45 colleagues, including 11 vets.
Following European expansion in 2019, VetPartners now has practices in Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the Channel Islands.
After being established as “a safe home for veterinary practices”, VetPartners diversified and now includes pet cremation services, an online retailer, a small animal veterinary nursing school, an equine veterinary nursing school, laboratories and a locum agency.
Malone said: “We are excited to welcome our new colleagues from Isabelle Vets. They are a highly respected practice and are rightly proud of their reputation for providing outstanding care for the animals of Guernsey. We will support them to continue to deliver the best possible care for their patients and excellent service for their clients, as well as being a great place to work.”
Munn-Litten added: “Through VetPartners, we will be able to access greater resources and expertise covering all species. We can tap into the knowledge of specialists who are part of VetPartners, which will be beneficial in an ever-changing environment when medicine and surgery are moving on as we want to stay at the forefront of excellence.
“VetPartners is clinically focused and our vets will have access to top-quality education and CPD. They can then put new knowledge and skills into practice in the service we deliver daily. Everything will look and feel the same for our clients but it will enable us to remain at the leading edge of premium veterinary care.”
