Bridges exits The Vet in trade sale

Bridges formed the company in partnership with founder Jane Baldwin in February 2013, taking a minority stake following a GBP 4m investment.

The GP said in a statement that it is confident of the company's future growth, given the increase in pet ownership during the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal is Bridges' third exit in just over a month. The GP sold Wholebake to Elysian earlier in August 2021, netting returns of 2.5x, as reported. In July 2021, the GP sold its majority stake in secondhand books seller World of Books to Livingbridge, retaining a minority stake in the business.

Veterinary and pet-related assets have garnered much interest during the pandemic. In the large-cap space, Hellman & Friedman announced its EUR 3bn take-private offer for Germany-based pet products retailer Zooplus earlier this week, as reported.

UK-based veterinary services and pet medicines provider ICV Evidensia has seen two tranches of PE investment in 2021; Silver Lake and Nestlé invested EUR 3.5bn in the EQT-backed company in February, followed by an investment from Mubadala Investment Company in June. In the mid-market space, Axcel acquired Denmark-based veterinary care provider VetGruppen from Dansk Ejerkapital.

Early-stage companies in the sector that have received recent VC backing include Germany-based Felmo, a software platform that allows users to book vet appointments online. Its backers include HV Capital and 468 Capital. Danish market peer FirstVet has received investment from firms including Mubadala Capital, Cathay Innovation, Omers Ventures and Creandum.

Company
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Woking, The Vet is a veterinary service operating eight clinics in the UK. The firm also offers an app-based service, developed as the first of its kind in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement.

For the financial year ending 31 March 2021, The Vet posted revenues of GBP 11.3m, versus GBP 11.2m in 2020. Its gross profit for the 2021 financial year was GBP 6.3m, versus GBP 5.7m in 2020. These accounts were the first for which the company filed full accounts, as opposed to accounts for a small company, indicating that FY 2021 was the first time that the company posted revenues of more than GBP 10.2m or its balance sheet exceeded GBP 5.1m.

People
Bridges Fund Management – Daniel Knight (investment director).
The Vet – Chris Jessop (chair); Jane Baldwin (founder, chief product officer).
CVS Group – James Cahill (group business development director).

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• Trade sale
• Bridges Ventures