Equine practice become employee owned

Lingfield Equine Vets has become employee owned after transferring into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

The practice, which has sites in Kent and Surrey, has grown from four vets when it opened in 2007 in Felbridge near East Grinstead, to now having 14 vets, as well as a support team of 12.

A second practice in Ashford, Kent was opened in 2021, with the business previously having three sole shareholders – George Christopherson, Rachel Atherton and Kate Granshaw.

Surplus profits

Mr Christopherson, said: “We believe we are the first equine practice in the country to become an EOT. Unlike the other large equine practices in the south-east, we never felt comfortable with the idea of selling to a corporate giant, so becoming an EOT felt like the perfect solution for us.

“The data is very clear, employee-owned businesses have higher employee retention, work more efficiently and have a team who are ultimately more satisfied and successful, which is great news for everyone in the business and our clients. In the future, Lingfield Equine Vets should also be able to offer some of the best salaries in the industry, as increasingly any surplus profits will be distributed amongst all employees.”

The three shareholders took advice from Kent based Pennard Vets, which became the world’s largest employee-owned practice in 2021 and has since helped guide numerous other practices through the process.

Team benefits

Mr Christopherson added: “We would like to thank Pennard Vets for showing us the best way to approach the EOT process and we are very happy with the outcome. Moving forward we feel that being an EOT will help attract and retain the very best equine professionals, and due to expansion, we are currently recruiting for at least three team members this year alone.”

Matthew Flann, from Pennard Vets, said: “We were the first to take the leap back in 2021 and have since provided guidance and advice to several other veterinary practices keen to maintain their independence at a time when it has become difficult for vets to buy into practices and also when the traditional partner progression model no longer really works.

“We explained the set-up and how an EOT can benefit the team, as well as putting Lingfield Equine Vets in touch with specialists EOT advisers and we can’t wait to see the business continue to thrive.”