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€33? For that job the cat would have to be heavily sedated or more likely anaesthetized - not like you can ask a cat to "open wide". OH saw a case where a dog supposed had had plaque removed - by the groomer - and virtually nothing had been done. Maybe £900 is high (but it depends) but €33 is not a job done properly
BTW - Vet fees - only 20% goes too the VET - approx 20% VAT, 20% meds, 20% support staff, 20% facility.
Other half is a vet. There are two reasons why fees are increasing - well 3...
The first two: Covid - lots of new pets, and Brexit - lots of EU vets leaving. My OHs salary has gone up by maybe 25% in 3 years - but only by moving jobs. There is a severe vet shortage, caused by those two reasons. And there's quite a bit of burn out - many graduates (after 5 or 6 years) don't last more than a few years.
Only now is her salary getting to a reasonable level - 3 years ago, aged 50, she was on £53k - which was poor given 6 year degree and 25+ years experience
The other reason is the cost of meds is soaring.
I bought shares after the dip yesterday and will do so again. The most that that will be found is that there's some lack of transparency on who owns what; the rest is supply and demand, caused in large part by this government
Up to a point, katstrangler! But insurance premiums are based on what vets charge. Face facts: vet fees are excessive but what can you do about it? Maybe more competition would help but that prompts the question: why are independent vet practices selling out to CVSG?
That story is a bit like roofers who quote £1000 to replace a tile! there are always going to be stories like that but as it's unregulated (it IS unregulated and i can' t see CMA doing owt (at least not before Sept results... 2024!). surely it'd make sense for CMA to make the point that folk need to have insurance for their pets!
Shocking story about a woman being quoted £900 to have plaque removed from the teeth of her cat.
That alone is flucking unbelievable but she took the cat on holiday to France where the job was done for 33 euro.
And the French vet suggested she take her cat there for any future treatments!
Obviously, vet fees are high but UK vets are also in very short supply. I bought sub-£15 yesterday and I'm happy to hold as CVSG expands worldwide.
Https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/635145
Remove VAT on veterinary bills and medication.
At the moment people with companion animals have to pay VAT on all veterinary bills despite the treatment being essential.
At 10,000 signatures...
At 10,000 signatures, government will respond to this petition
At 100,000 signatures...
At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament
Share this petition
Can't help felling (if i didn't suggest it y'day) that the CMA statements about high prices implies that the results later in the month will end up being better than expected. but eve if it's just as per guidance, would say that £20 is a fairly easy level for this to reach from here.
Https://twitter.com/surprised_trade/status/1700059410083557633
sp dropped from 2050p+ on vet review by CMA news - 'The Times understands that the CMA assessed the announcement and deemed it not to be market-moving'....market providing opportunity.
The Times understands that the CMA assessed the announcement and deemed it not to be market-moving, largely because it had not yet made findings or used its formal powers. Yet shares in CVS Group fell by a third in the morning.
The CMA called for pet owners and vet practitioners to write in with their experiences of pricing, how prescriptions are sold, choosing a surgery, and use of out-of-hours services.
The news triggered the share price of CVS Group, the vet network, to drop by more than a third in morning trading...
The company later issued a response to the review, saying: “There continues to be a significant shortage of vets in the UK and employment costs represent the most significant proportion of our cost base. Our pricing reflects this and other inflationary pressures experienced in recent years. “We have a clear strategy to continue to expand our network and to improve clinical care through investment in facilities, equipment, technology and our people.”
Analysts at Jefferies said that “much of the inflation in the cost of vet services is being driven directly by the shortage of vet practitioners and the, justified in our view, inflation in vet salaries.”
RBC analysts said: “CVS generally seeks 5 per cent per annum increases (two increases in 2022 due to inflation), but that it tends to achieve a net 3 per cent rise as some services are more price competitive. This does not seem egregious to us.”
The Times understands that the CMA assessed the announcement and deemed it not to be market-moving, largely because it had not yet made findings or used its formal powers. Yet shares in CVS Group fell by a third in the morning.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/competition-review-leaves-veterinary-group-looking-poorly-bz67tj5nx
Nm
Not all today, obviously!
Nm
Bigger mcap... bigger investors... bigger panic... bigger recovery!
Pets at Home sp has almost fully recovered so what is going on with CVS ?
And then 1650 for pi's to sell... and more hoovering up by the more serious investors.
i'll hold to 1800ish (if it comes!)
If someone throws £228,000 in at that price i guess they have the confidence it'll bounce back.
Realistically the only thing that the CMA can do is ask for prices to be fixed for a period of time.
Considering all the factors outside of CVS hands (inflation, and niche employment market), it would be wholly unreasonable for the CMA to ask for price reductions.
CMA should focus on the energy and housing markets, those are the 2 areas that are ripping consumers off the most.
CVS commented that it "has always sought to ensure its prices are appropriate and reflect fair value to our clients." However: "As the CMA have recognised, there continues to be a significant shortage of vets in the UK and employment costs represent the most significant proportion of our cost base. Our pricing reflects this and other inflationary pressures experienced in recent years."
"We always work closely with our regulators and we and our colleagues will support the CMA review," CVS said, adding: "We have a clear strategy to continue to expand our network and to improve clinical care through investment in facilities, equipment, technology and our people."
CVS is due to announce its full-year results on September 21.
Not long to go for full year results. Look forward to that as this fall is clearly over done.
There will be a lot more paperwork and warnings (as on a call centre script) that will suck the life out of being a vet / support staff and ruin the experience of going to the vet (when there is little wrong).
Routine items should be purchasable OTC which will encourage price competition - but may flood the market with fake product…..no good is likely to come from this review and the additional bureaucracy may well end up increasing fees.
Vets dont get paid as much as NHS doctors.
.
.
Better be wearing thick trousers for that amout of fence-sitting. kind of comment one makes when one hasn't a clue!
AJ Bell's Mould warned that the sell-off could be an "overreaction", though he added that the CMA review looks to be "wide-ranging".
Seems a bit of an extreme movement in the share price for a CMA review no? What are the CMA going to do, tell them to cap prices? That is one of the only situations I can see where a 30% drop would be justifiable.
Haven’t done much research into CVSG, but based on the past few years they seem to have a nice history of solid returns. Dividend (although very small) is also a plus. I should take a look before market close today.
Not a lot they could really say except vets are in short supply and so, squeezed market! bit like shares, really. pluss Australia expansion not affected by CMA... (but then, niether will CVSG, except for this buying opp).
gla.
Typical of this shoddy interfering government and its bureaucrats. CMA nothing better to do..Neither Pets or CVS proving to be a great investment which they would have been were there anything to investigate here. Buying in below £15 would be sensible, not a fantastic cheap grab.
Razzledaz- many thanks. I agree this is a Massive buy opportunity. I am more than satisfied to have jumped in and invested in this company at this over sold bargain price. At 73 million shares, this is going to recover back upwards and towards £20 by next week.