Pets at Home acquires telehealth service to boost digital capabilities

The pet care business has made the acquisition for a cash consideration of £15m, which is being financed by its existing cash reserves.

The Vet Connection offers round-the-clock telehealth advice, triage and ancillary services using its in-house veterinary team, conducting around 90,000 remote consultations a year.

Pets at Home hopes to incorporate The Vet Connection’s capabilities into its operations, boosting its digital offering. Online consultations have become popular throughout the pandemic.

The pet retailer saw a 5.1% decline in pre-tax profit to £40m during the 28 weeks to October 8 but it is looking to capitalise on the “baby boom” of new pet owners during the pandemic, offering lifetime value through new online and in-store offerings including remote consultations.

Pets at Home chief executive Peter Pritchard said: “The acquisition of TVC marks an important next step in the development of our digital capabilities providing trusted advice and even more convenient pet care services.

“We recognise TVC’s exceptional telehealth capabilities and excellent service levels, as well as the opportunities arising from the scalability of their clinical protocols and proprietary telehealth platform, and look forward to incorporating their capabilities into our existing customer offer – across product, services and subscriptions – to enhance the overall customer experience and help drive customer acquisition, retention and lifetime value. 

“TVC is a win-win solution for our customers, colleagues and joint venture partners, providing 24/7 access to trusted advice from the comfort of home with increased flexibility around veterinary work-life balance.”