VBJ articles

Sometimes in life it’s worth throwing caution to the wind and taking a risk for the right opportunity. For Kirsty Perratt that opportunity arrived two years ago and she grabbed it with both hands, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit to Doncaster Pet Clinic last month…

33 mins

Bury St Edmunds Veterinary Centre is an excellent example of a practice that is being run in a way to suit all stakeholders. Great veterinary care, a strong team ethos and excellent customer service are what make this practice tick, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit to Suffolk last month…

33 mins

The buzz around Creature Comforts has been building since news first emerged of a “pet tech” start-up with eye-catching plans to revolutionise the way veterinary care works for vets, pets and clients. So, when the first clinic opened in central London last month, VBJ caught up with founder Russell Welsh to see if this ambitious venture looks like it’s living up to the hype…

33 mins

The most predictable consequence of last month’s CMA announcement was the unwelcome return of sensationalised “money-grabbing vet” stories across the mainstream media. In almost every case, however, such ill-informed headlines couldn’t be further from the truth, as VBJ was delighted to rediscover when we paid a visit to Nightingale Vets last month…

33 mins

Creating a new veterinary practice is often a team effort, and that was certainly the case when Beacon VetCare in Cornwall opened last year. It might be the names of Colin and Lizzy Whiting above the door, but this new community business is the work of many hands, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit last month...

33 mins

Synergy Farm Health was formed when two neighbouring West Country practices decided to merge their farm departments in 2009. Since then, Synergy has grown rapidly and is now the UK’s largest independent farm animal practice, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit last month…

31 mins

Setting up a specialist ophthalmology practice is always going to be a risky business. But Ioannis Tzouganakis eyed a gap in this highly competitive market, and so far, the risk is paying off, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit to Vet Eye Care last month…

31 mins

When most people decide to open their own veterinary practice, the plan is usually to start small and build at a steady pace from there. But Laura Keyser has decided to take a rather different approach with Claro Hill Vets near Harrogate, as VBJ discovered when we met last month…

31 mins

Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists has been in a state of almost constant evolution since the referral practice opened in 2008. Last year saw the latest phase of an ongoing £10 million investment at the site, so VBJ headed to Hampshire to see if it’s been money well spent...

33 mins

Most young people struggle to get on the housing ladder these days, let alone self-fund their own veterinary practice. But that’s exactly what Alex Hirst did when he opened River Veterinary Care near Newcastle earlier this year…

35 mins

Pickles became the UK’s first members-only vet practice when the doors of its Fulham clinic opened late last year. At launch, founders talked of fixing “a broken system” and of creating a £1 billion business - but is Pickles living up to the hype? VBJ headed to west London to find out…

34 mins

Harrison Family Vets in Kingswinford may look like any one of hundreds of newly built veterinary clinics from the outside. But on the inside, things really are rather different, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit to the West Midlands last month…

27 mins

A lot has changed in the decade since Keith Leonard and his wife Julie set up their Companion Care practice in a Pets at Home store near Leeds. But this year, the pace of change has increased faster than the Bank of England’s base rate, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit…

39 mins

One of the biggest names in veterinary referrals has just got bigger – a whole lot bigger. Dick White Referrals in Cambridgeshire tripled in size following the completion of an expansion project in February, and last month VBJ was invited in to take a look around…

34 mins

The idea of mobile veterinary practices was still very much in its infancy when Rosie Smith set up Paws Indoors back in 2003. But despite the odd bump in the road over the past two decades, this peripatetic pioneer has made it work – as VBJ discovered when we caught up with Rosie last month…

27 mins

When Luke and Esther Green decided to set up for themselves, they found the dream home for Beehive Vets in a former GP’s practice near Leeds. VBJ went along to get the buzz…

33 mins

The proliferation of referral centres in recent years means pets being sent long distances for specialised treatment has become an increasingly rare occurrence. But in some remote regions, long trips over land and sea remain par for the course, as VBJ discovered when we spoke to Highland Vet Referrals in Inverness…

27 mins

One of the veterinary sector’s central narratives in the past few years has been the story of big corporate groups swallowing up small independent practices. But as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit to Martin and Manifold Vets in Cirencester last month, the little guys are beginning to bite back…

The key ingredients needed for a successful veterinary practice don’t change a great deal – wherever you happen to be in the world. Strong leadership, a motivated team and top-class client care are universal requirements, as VBJ discovered when we caught up with Catherine Harper of Barossa Veterinary Service...

Size mattered when it came to finding a new home for the fastest-growing practice in the Vets4Pets group. So, when the time arrived to move the flagship Northampton hospital after more than a decade of rapid expansion, it was a case of “the bigger, the better”, as VBJ discovered…

42 mins