largest pet store(multimillion-pound )
business setup by Peter Watson
Pic::: pet is better for country families safety from criminals..a nice pet pic .pic courtesy::wp/guardian
special business report(weastar times/wp/g):::
Pets at Home, the THE ROYAL ENGLAND largest pet store business, has bought Vets4Pets for £40m, and will integrate the latter's 93 veterinary practices into its 166 in-store vet business.
The deal will net millions for Vets4Pets' founder, Peter Watson, a former Specsavers and Vision Express executive who set up the veterinary firm 12 years ago.
It will mean Pets at Home will become one of the largest veterinary chains in the country and practices could eventually overtake the number of stores.
The business has already expanded beyond selling dog food, scratching posts and bird cages, to offering grooming and de-fleaing services.
Its chief executive, Nick Wood, said: "The expansion of our veterinary business is a key element of our growth strategy for Pets at Home, providing additional services to our customers within our stores or close to our customers' homes."
Wood joined the retailer last year from American Golf, replacing Matt Davies, who went on to run Halfords.
Pets at Home has 346 stores, almost half of which already have in-house vets thanks to a linkup with Companion Care, which will continue to work alongside the new venture.
The purchase of Vest4Pets lead to the retailer having 210 veterinary practices in total. Pets at Home owns nearly 10% of all surgeries across the UK with a turnover of £100m. It also operates 86 in-store grooming salons.
The company was bought by private equity group KKR three years ago, in a deal worth £955m.
It followed a highly competitive auction between some of the world's biggest private equity groups, which persuaded its owner, Bridgepoint, to ditch plans for going public on the stock market.
Last year the company saw sales up 7.1% to £544.3m, with like-for-like revenues up 1.3%. Underlying pretax profits were up 0.5% at £91.7m.
