Data study
Who owns the UK's vets?
How many vet practices belong to the six large groups, area by area. Every figure comes from evidence we can show for each practice, and you can download all of it.
UK, as of 16 October 2026
- vet practices in our directory
- 5,355
- shown to belong to one of six large groups (2,747)
- 51%
- say on their own website that they are independent
- 630
- where we have no evidence either way yet
- 1,889
Key findings
- At least 51% of the 5,355 UK vet practices in our directory belong to one of the six large groups the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) named. The CMA put the figure at over 60%; ours is lower because we only count a practice when we can show the evidence.
- IVC Evidensia has the most practices we can link to a group (832), followed by Pets at Home (513) and CVS (426).
- Of the 258 council areas where we list at least 10 practices, the large groups make up three quarters or more of the practices in 17, and a quarter or fewer in 15.
- 630 practices say on their own website that they are independent. For 1,889 more we have no evidence either way yet, and we do not count them as independent.
Practices by group
| Group | Practices | Share of UK |
|---|---|---|
| IVC Evidensia | 832 | 16% |
| Pets at Home | 513 | 10% |
| CVS | 426 | 8% |
| Medivet | 395 | 7% |
| VetPartners | 391 | 7% |
| Linnaeus | 190 | 4% |
Minimum counts: a practice is only counted when its listing, its website or its own words tie it to the group. Branch surgeries are counted separately.
Area figures rest on fewer practices, so one missing or closed practice can move them. If you plan to publish a figure for one area, check it with us first and we will confirm it practice by practice.
Highest share in a group
Council areas with at least 10 practices listed.
| Council area | Practices | In a group |
|---|---|---|
| Southend-on-Sea | 12 | 100% |
| Wakefield | 23 | 91% |
| Enfield | 11 | 91% |
| Broxtowe | 10 | 90% |
| East Lothian | 15 | 87% |
| Amber Valley | 11 | 82% |
| Bury | 11 | 82% |
| East Staffordshire | 11 | 82% |
| Halton | 11 | 82% |
| Harrow | 11 | 82% |
| Caerphilly | 10 | 80% |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 35 | 77% |
| Ashfield | 13 | 77% |
| Bristol | 28 | 75% |
| Telford and Wrekin | 20 | 75% |
Lowest share in a group
Council areas with at least 10 practices listed.
| Council area | Practices | In a group |
|---|---|---|
| Ceredigion | 10 | 0% |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 17 | 6% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 20 | 10% |
| Elmbridge | 19 | 11% |
| Pembrokeshire | 21 | 14% |
| Cumberland | 24 | 17% |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 12 | 17% |
| Mid Devon | 12 | 17% |
| South Ayrshire | 17 | 18% |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 11 | 18% |
| West Lindsey | 11 | 18% |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 16 | 19% |
| Spelthorne | 10 | 20% |
| West Lancashire | 10 | 20% |
| Flintshire | 17 | 24% |
How we worked this out
Our directory starts from Overture Maps open data, cleaned to remove places that are not vet practices and merged where a practice was listed twice. We then checked each practice's own website on 16 October 2026.
We count a practice as part of a group only when one of these is true:
- its listing links to the group's own website;
- it trades under a name only that group uses, such as Vets for Pets or Medivet;
- its website sends visitors on to the group's website;
- its website says it is part of the group.
Limits you should know about
- All group figures are minimums. Some group practices don't say so on their website yet; they must from 23 March 2027.
- “Not yet confirmed” does not mean independent.
- Our directory may miss some practices, especially new ones, and may still include a few that have closed.
- Figures for an area with few practices can change a lot when one practice is added or corrected.
Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will correct it and note the change.
Use this data
Download ownership by council area (CSV). It lists every council area with the number of practices, the number we can link to each group, those that say they are independent, and those not yet confirmed.
You are free to use it under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Please credit “Local Vet Prices” and link to this page. Journalists can find more on our press page.