At Roker Park Vets, we’ve always believed that the health and wellbeing of your pets should guide every decision made in veterinary care.  That’s why we want to draw your attention to something important that could shape the future of how you buy your pet’s medicines and access veterinary advice.

What’s Happening?

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently published its Provisional Decision Report into the veterinary market. The investigation found that a few large veterinary groups (LVGs) own approximately 59% of the veterinary practices in the UK.  Many of these LVGs also own their own veterinary labs, out of hours providers, referral centres, pet crematoria and/or online pharmacies.

On the surface, this might seem efficient… you can get everything from the same company.  In reality, this concentration of ownership is harming competition, driving up costs and limiting true choice for pet owners.

The Problem: Hidden Ownership and Restricted Choice

The CMA’s findings are stark:

• Many pet owners don’t realise that their local vet, referral centre, cremation service, and even online pharmacy may all be owned by the same large group
• Over half of pet owners at LVG practices had no idea they were part of a chain

This lack of transparency stifles competition, because people think they’re comparing independent options when they’re not.  When LVGs control both the prescription and the pharmacy, pet owners can end up unknowingly buying medicines from the same corporate group

What the CMA Found About Prices

The CMA’s analysis revealed that pet owners at large vet groups pay 16.6% more on average than at independent practices.

They also identified that the price of veterinary medicines at LVG-owned online pharmacies is often 50–60% lower than the same medicine sold at their own practices.

These groups can set high in-practice prices and then point to their own online pharmacy as the “cheaper alternative,” keeping the money in the same corporate ecosystem.

In other words, pet owners don’t get real competition — they just move money from one arm of the same company to another.

The price of the provision of a written prescription has been shown to be higher on average from a LVG than an independent practice, despite LVGs also owning the internet pharmacy.

What the CMA is Proposing to Fix the Problem

To make veterinary care fairer, clearer and better value, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed a set of new rules and protections for pet owners.
Here’s what they include:

• Clear ownership: All vet practices and online pharmacies would have to show who owns them, so clients know if they’re part of a large corporate group.
• Transparent pricing: Practices must publish price lists for common treatments, medicines, and pet-care plans — online and in-practice — so clients can compare costs easily.
• Fair medicine pricing:
  • Vets must tell clients they can ask for a prescription and buy medicines elsewhere (including online).
  • Prescription fees would be capped at £16.
  • Prescriptions must be issued quickly — by the end of the consultation or the same day.
• Itemised bills: Clients should receive a clear breakdown of all costs for treatment.
• Pet owner voice: The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) would carry out an independent survey every two years, comparing client satisfaction across large groups and independents.
• Better complaints system: All practices must have an in-house complaints process that meets minimum standards, with access to mediation if needed.

What This Means at Roker Park Vets

We are doing most of this already, however there are some concerns about the implementation of some of these remedies and how they will impact independent practices like ourselves disproportionately in a negative way, making it difficult for us to compete with the LVGs. 

The CMA are proposing a change from providing medications to clients as standard and providing a written prescription upon request, to providing a written prescription as standard and only providing medications upon request, along with a cap on prescription fees which is significantly below the average price currently paid for a prescription.

It is no secret that veterinary practices get some income from the sales of medicines.  Independent practices are at a significant disadvantage here as most do not own their own internet pharmacy to retain the medication sales. As such removing this source of income is only going to increase the veterinary fees paid by clients.  Under the current proposals, independent practices will need to increase prices significantly more than the corporate practices to compensate from this lost income. Futhermore, as the most popular internet pharmacies are owned by the corporate practices, that lost income from independent practice will be going directly to the corporate practice.  This puts independent practices at a significant disadvantage compared to the corporate practices.

Why Divestment Matters

Roker Park Vets are calling for divestment — that is, for LVGs to sell off their online pharmacies so they are no longer under the same ownership as the prescribing vet practices.

Here’s why that matters:

• True independence: When vets don’t have a financial stake in where you buy your pet’s medicine, you can trust their advice is clinical, not commercial.
• Fair competition: Independent online pharmacies could finally compete on price and service without being undercut by corporate cross-subsidies.
• Transparency and trust: Pet owners could make fully informed choices — knowing who owns their vet and where their money goes.

What You Can Do

1. Ask who owns your vet. Don’t be afraid to ask your practice directly about ownership — it should be displayed clearly under upcoming CMA recommendations.
2. Support independent veterinary practices — locally owned practices reinvest in their teams and communities.
3. Use independent online pharmacies when you buy repeat prescriptions. You can check for approved providers on the VMD website.
4. Respond to the CMA consultation and support remedies that require divestment of LVG-owned online pharmacies by responding here by 13^th November 2025: https://connect.cma.gov.uk/vets-provisional-decision

Our Commitment

At Roker Park Vets, we’re proud to be independently owned.
Our only motivation is the health of your pet — not meeting a corporate sales target. We support fair, transparent competition that helps pet owners make informed choices and keeps veterinary care accessible and affordable for all.