Pets at Home is investing in its veterinary services by snapping up Vets4Pets, in a deal rumoured to have cost the specialist retailer between £30m and £50m.
Owned by US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Pets at Home currently runs Companion Care vet practices in 116 of its 346 stores. The new acquisition will see 90 Vets4Pets practices added to the number.

And, according to Pets at Home chief executive Nick Wood, this is just the beginning. "In the future, the opportunity for Pets at Home is to have more vet and potential vet locations than store locations."

As well as offering vet services in each store, the group may also invest in stand-alone vet practices, meaning Pets at Home could eventually have more practices than stores.

Vets4Pets was founded 12 years ago by former Vision Express and Specsavers executive Peter Watson, who is expected to stay with the business.

Pets at Home was acquired by KKR three years ago in a deal worth £955m.