CMA building

CMA photo

The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority is based at Canary Wharf in East London.

Authorities in the United Kingdom are considering controlling what veterinary practices charge for medications and requiring upfront disclosures of service prices as part of a raft of proposals intended to lower the cost of care.

The country's Competition and Markets Authority did not, however, press for large corporate consolidators to sell practices, only stating a reminder that it "has the ability to scrutinize future mergers."

The CMA began a sweeping probe last year of competition and pricing in U.K. veterinary practice following a spike in the cost of care that had outpaced the country's overall inflation rate.

Its highly anticipated remedy proposals, released on Thursday, indicate that regulators remain concerned about the cost of veterinary care, even as rampant price inflation shows signs of moderating.

Many large veterinary practices in the U.K. had pinned rising costs on an apparent shortage of practitioners, increasing demand for more sophisticated care and disruptions to supply chains caused by the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

The regulator, though, is concerned that high levels of ownership concentration in the profession have made the British market anticompetitive. The CMA noted last year that consolidators own a combined nearly 60% of veterinary practices in the U.K., up from around 10% in 2013.

It has invited veterinary professionals, veterinary businesses and pet owners to comment on its remedy proposals. Submissions are due May 27.

Among the proposals, outlined in a 162-page report, is a requirement that veterinary practices clearly disclose their ownership, both online and at their physical locations.

Practices also would have to disclose on their websites prices or price ranges on key procedures. The CMA report suggests establishing a national price-comparison website potentially operated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which regulates the profession.

As for price controls, the CMA paid particular attention to medications, especially those sold directly to pet owners by practices. It raised the prospect of banning practices from selling certain drugs in-house and compelling them instead to provide pet owners with a prescription enabling them to buy the medicine elsewhere. At the very least, it proposed that veterinarians be required to inform pet owners that they have the option of buying veterinary drugs elsewhere.

The CMA also suggested capping or banning prescription fees, which are charged by some practices to pet owners who elect to buy treatments outside of the clinic. In addition, it proposed "mandatory generic prescribing" to prevent consolidators that manufacture private-label drugs, such as IVC Evidensia and CVS Group, from compelling pet owners to buy their products.

Acknowledging that it could take some time for any rule changes to be implemented, the CMA said the U.K. government could introduce a temporary price freeze on all medicines sold in-house by veterinary practices, although it stated that it would prefer not to take such a drastic action.

"At this stage in our investigation, a price control on medicines is only a possibility that we are considering," it wrote. "We are not sufficiently advanced in our assessment to give a view on whether it would in fact be appropriate to put in place such a price control, and our preference is to explore whether one could be avoided."

Among other measures proposed by the CMA are a cap on prices for cremating pets and a loosening of contracts that compel general practitioner to use the same emergency care provider.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA), which represents more than 19,000 practitioners in the U.K., expressed support for some of the CMA's measures and reservations about others, including the idea of price controls.

"Many of the CMA's potential remedies are absolutely hitting the right note, particularly around the need for greater transparency and better communication ..." Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux, the association president, said: "There are, however, some concerns around the potential remedies … particularly around medicines, out-of-hours care, cremations and standardized price lists."

Mullineaux said the BVA will review the proposals in detail before formally responding to the CMA.

"It's vital that any measures the CMA presses forward with do not risk undermining the ability of veterinary professionals to do their job or compromise the sustainability of the sector, which could have negative consequences for the welfare of the animals in our care," she said.

Judging from market activity, investors in British corporate consolidators appeared to react with relief to the CMA proposals, presumably because the regulator did not call for any practice sales. The value of shares in CVG Group, for instance, jumped 14% on Thursday.

Inflation in the veterinary market and overall has been cooling amid fears of a global recession. Still, the U.K. consumer price index for "veterinary and other services for pets" has continued to creep higher. The country's Office of National Statistics shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the index rose 1.1% from the previous quarter. Compared with 10 years ago, the index shows prices have risen 70%.