Pets at Home has sold five specialist referral practices to veterinary services provider Linnaeus for £100m.
The sale which was revealed today 1 December, is said to be part of Pets at Home plan to focus on “group resources on customer-facing activities” across its omnichannel retailing and First Opinion veterinary operations.
The five sites being sold are:
- Dick White Referrals in Cambridgeshire
- Anderson Moores in Hampshire
- Northwest Veterinary Specialists in Cheshire
- Eye Vet in Cheshire
- Veterinary Specialists Scotland in Livingston, Scotland
The deal will see the company receive £80m in cash on completion and a deferred cash consideration of £20m, which will be payable upon “certain financial milestones” being met in the future.
Pets at Home said the cash proceeds will be retained by the group for “general corporate purposes”, with the disposal expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2021.
Peter Pritchard, group chief executive officer, said: “I am very pleased to have agreed the disposal of the specialist group to Linnaeus. Pets at Home is the UK’s leading pet care business, across our retail and veterinary operations.
“This disposal does not deviate from our core focus of providing customers with affordable, convenient, engaging and flexible pet care solutions through our growing online platform and estate of 440 First Opinion veterinary practices and 451 stores.”
He added: “The disposal represents a great outcome for all of our stakeholders. Linnaeus is a well-regarded operator of veterinary practices with a strong and established track record of practice management. We hold them in high regard, and they will be a great home for our highly-skilled colleagues in the specialist group, underpinned by an ongoing commitment to specialist multidisciplinary veterinary care, supported by Mars.
“For our First Opinion joint venture partners and retail colleagues, the disposal allows realignment of financial and operational resource to support them in doing even more for our customers and their pets.”
