Member Info for buchanan101

Thanks

I can't see how CMA can make a private company freeze prices. All they can do is address any monopolistic practices, which could increase competition and lead to a slowing of price increases.

But there are two underlying problems (OH is a vet, not for CVSG, but it's no different where where she is). The number of pets has increased through Covid and they haven't yet really got to the age where problems start to appear in volume, and Covid and Brexit resulted in many EU vets going home. The government could make recruitment of vets from the EU easier - that WOULD help prices

Good leverage of debt then

I seem to vaguely recall from my MBA 25 years ago that debt is far from being automatically bad ...

@shearclass reckons they have a fair amount of debt...

"Balance sheet looks distinctly unattractive - £85m term loan repayable on 31/01/24, net debt of £35m"

Most analysts had it as a buy at £21. The results will be the interesting time. They are now my biggest shareholding - maybe gains will cancel out my loss on my previously biggest.... Scottish Mortgage (!), which I am not selling...

PCA surely?

Can't understand why they continue to fall - tempts me each time in to buying £500 worth more...

I assume they are on somewhere like Freetrade... wouldn't want to be paying £3.99 fees for a 1 share trade...

Fair enough - Lineas are Mars but not that big then. OH who is a vet reckons IVC are the worst at what the CMA is looking at (not being clear about ultimate ownership)

Mars may have a problem with the CMA though if they take over CVSG - what % share would their group then have ?

You have to wonder about the CMA and whether there's a political motive behind the investigation. They already know the answer to increasing prices, and they can't actually do anything about those prices.

Looking forward to £20 even.

Based on new value?

Most analysts were saying strong buy at £21!

hopefully I will be back in the black today, though it's still struggling to get through £15

I really don't understand the continued fall. The promise of a little bit of wrist slapping for lack of opaqueness on competition from the CMA doesn't knock a third off the value of a company...

And the CMA can't make vets cut prices. They can only consider where there is an unfair monopoly (with different brands as part of the same group not being apparent enough).

Forward looking it should be good news for all vets as pet ownership has increased - and lots of pets bought during Covid are still to get to an age where things start to happen more frequently.

I think I need to buy some more... whether straight back to £21 happens next week - I am a bit more doubtful. Didn't manage to buy right at the bottom, but in the low £15s so sitting on a very small loss atm.

Only one largeish sell recently (10,000 shares)...

Lots of playing about. Surprised it's going any lower - if the fundamentals were OK at £21 (of course they may not have been...) then they'll be more than fine at £15 - any CMA ruling cannot knock that much value off a company. Of course it may take 2 or 3 years to rule, and results out next week may tell a different story about the underlying...

Interesting. Not sure why 6 out of 9 analysts summarised on the MSN money pages recommend "strong buy" at the price a week ago (with a 12 month target of £24). Yes analysts seem to always be on the high side, but they must see something... (but most shares are a "Buy" at the moment...)

Not sure about the uncertainty - I can't see how the CMA investigation have that much effect. The problem is supply of vets and nurses; yes some groups are bad at disguising who owns what (OH says IVC are the worst at being very economic with who owns what with apparent independents not being independent).

Results out next week will be interesting...

People won't stop taking their animals to vets, and there are many more animals now, and fewer vets...

Seems to be a floor - got some right down there

Apologies for being a bit defensive of my OH - she's seething - as is her practice with this latest round of "bash a vet" - she thinks the BBC have been awful.

One thing - vets are NOT overpaid - she's probably on about half what she'd get as a GP (and the first two years of university are the same for medical and animal doctors). She's at a hospital praxtice (which she prefers) so lates and some nights involved

I think part of the problem in the UK is we get healthcare "free", so people don't appreciate healthcare costs for animals

As for teeth... that's my OH's specialty - something few vets want to do (which may be reflected a bit in the prices you see). She's finding a huge variation in what has been considered good and appropriate work carried out at other practices that she has subsequently seen - which may also be reflected in the prices you've seen!

However it indys are cheaper, then people will go there. That's what free markets are about; you've gone to the independent

All CMA can do - as I said - is address any hidden monopolies like you suggest. CMA can't and won't address pricing.

Many vets are closing books to new clients as there are not enough vets, so companies are having to pay more (thankfully, at last my OH is starting to be rewarded a little better for a poorly paid job given her qualification, experience and responsibilities). She's worked off her feet as hers is one of the only vets in her area still taking on new clients.

CVSG won't be reducing prices - so the outlook for them is little different than a week ago (she doesn't work for CVSG BTW, or one of the big groups like Mars!!) - plus they operate in 4 countries. How are they worth 70% of what they were a week ago. It's nonsense!

Not sure what people are expecting from any investigation. Veterinary Services are privately owned and apart from where there may be monopolistic activity the CMA have no right to tell vets what to charge - this is leaving out the obvious reasons why prices have increased as I've mentioned before

Yet a sell off of well over 25% of share price...seems rather mad

Have been picking up small volumes on the way down

Volumes are very low though- sales are for tiny amounts. Who is selling at these prices - that's just daft. Any lower and I will be buying more. (have a kill order at 1450 just in case it goes that low and I'm not around)

My OH is a vet - I know why their costs are increasing (shortage of vets). They cannot be forced to charge less as they won't be viable businesses - and it's not as if people aren't paying the prices; she consistently works non stop for 10+ hour days. Many practices have closed their books to new clients as demand - a lot down to new fancy breeds with lots of inbuilt problems - bought during Covid - exceeds supply. Vets still paid a fraction of what doctors are paid though - she should have gone down that route...

Agreed. No good reason why the shares won't get back to where they were. CMA won't be able to do anything about fees - as that's a result of simple supply and demand (in large part due to Covid and Brexit). They may find that competition is opaque as many apparently different vet pratices are ultimately owned by the same large groups