27 Jul 2023
Trading update also reveals CVS Group revenue grew by more than 7% during the past 12 months and that the company spent more than £50 million on UK practice acquisitions.
James Westgate
Job Title
Image © Andy Dean / Adobe Stock
CVS has issued a trading update, which shows the company’s revenue has grown by more than 7% in the past 12 months.
The update, which covers the financial year ended 30 June 2023, shows like-for-like sales rose by 7.3% and that the business invested £46 million on facilities and equipment.
It also shows that the London Stock Exchange-listed company spent £55 million on 11 UK practice acquisitions (comprising of 16 sites) during the same period.
Roughly £20 million of that outlay was spent on the acquisition of a further three veterinary practices, comprising of five practice sites.
These were East of England Veterinary Specialists in Cambridgeshire, Brunswick Place Veterinary Clinic in Hampshire and Riverside Veterinary Practice in West Lothian.
The report also highlighted the entry of CVS into the Australian veterinary market following deals for the purchase of four independent small animal first opinion veterinary practices.
McDowall Veterinary Practice (Brisbane), Northgate Veterinary Surgery and St Vincents Vets (Brisbane), Warner Vet (Cashmere, Queensland) and Southside Animal Hospital (Sydney) are the practices being acquired for a combined value expected to be around £16.8 million.
CVS has already completed the acquisitions of McDowall Veterinary and Warner Vet Practices, with the remaining two acquisitions expected to be completed shortly.
The company added that the four acquisitions announced are the first of a number of planned Australian practice acquisitions, which CVS expects to announce in the coming months.
Richard Fairman, CVS chief executive, said: “At our Capital Markets Day in November 2022, we set out our plans and ambition to double adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation] over the next five years through a continued focus on organic growth and through acquisitions in the UK and overseas.
“Our entry into the Australian market is consistent with these plans and we are excited by the opportunity. I am delighted to welcome the teams at McDowall Vets, Northgate Veterinary Surgery and St Vincent Vets, Warner Vet and Southside Animal Hospital in Australia, and those of East of England Veterinary Specialists, Brunswick Place Veterinary Clinic and Riverside Veterinary Practice in the UK to the CVS Group.”
