VBJ articles

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

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

It was less than a year after graduation that Emily Westwood realised working for someone else as an ambulatory equine vet wasn’t going to be for her. But instead of abandoning her hard-won veterinary career before it had really begun, Emily instead decided to set up her own practice – and Pocket Nook Equine Vets was born…

33 mins

Southfields Veterinary Specialists opened the doors of its huge new referral centre last month – one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe. It marks the end of a five-year journey for all those involved with the project, but as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit, the best things really do come to those who wait…

When Northlands Veterinary Hospital relocated to new premises in Kettering town centre last year, it didn’t move very far. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from the old site, but a million miles away in every other sense, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit last month...

34 mins

Jenny Reason and Carly Day had no experience of running a business and only a relatively small amount of money when they opened Bury St Edmunds Veterinary Centre three years ago. However, the practice has since grown into the perfect example of what can be achieved with a lot of hard work and little bit of love…

32 mins

Changing the fortunes of a large veterinary hospital can be like trying to do a 180 in an ocean liner – it’s a slow and complicated task. But the team at Wear Referrals has done just that, and the practice is once again steaming in the right direction, as VBJ discovered…

37 mins

When most people set up a practice, their goals for the new enterprise are usually relatively limited. But the Nupsala Musculoskeletal Clinic in Melton Mowbray is part of a much grander and ambitious plan, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit last month...