07 November 2026 — EBM Weekend Read — By Nick Staunton
Europeans have spent the past three years cutting back. Food, energy and mortgages have all cost more, and eurozone inflation is back at 4%. Yet one budget has barely flinched. Europe now has 306 million pets living in 140 million homes, almost half of all households, according to the industry body FEDIAF. Its members produced €29.4bn of pet food in 2024.
Behind those figures sits one of Europe’s most dependable businesses. It runs from the bowl to the operating table, and in the past decade it has attracted some of the world’s biggest investors. The question now is whether owners’ loyalty is being turned into pricing power.
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SubscribePaying More, Not Buying More
The detail in FEDIAF’s figures is more telling than the total. Pet food volumes rose by just 1% in 2024, while the value of sales rose 4%. Europeans are not buying much more food for their animals. They are paying more for it.
Part of that is inflation. Part of it is that owners keep trading up to premium, specialist and veterinary diets, even when they are trimming their own shopping. A family may switch to a cheaper supermarket brand of pasta, but few want to be seen doing the same to the dog. That makes pet care rare in consumer goods: a market where price rises do not seem to drive customers away.
Investors understand this well. The same logic has driven deals across leisure and lifestyle brands, from LVMH’s Hyrox move to the wider hunt for businesses with loyal customers and steady cash.
The Vet Is the Real Prize
Private equity has moved even faster. IVC Evidensia, owned by EQT, Silver Lake and Nestlé, has more than 2,300 clinics in 19 countries, making it Europe’s largest vet group. KKR, JAB and CVC all have stakes in the sector.
The model is simple. Buy independent practices, share costs and systems, and raise revenue per visit. It has also been funded heavily with debt. In early 2025, IVC Evidensia’s borrowings stood at more than seven times its earnings, according to S&P. That was manageable when money was cheap. With the Federal Reserve raising rates again and the wider bond sell-off, it is less comfortable. Investors in private credit, who lend to many such deals, are already nervous.
Britain Shows Where This Leads
The UK offers a preview of a consolidated market. Six large groups own more than 60% of British practices, and in March the Competition and Markets Authority concluded its investigation, calling it the most extensive review of veterinary services in a generation.
Its findings were stark. Vet prices rose 63% between 2016 and 2023, almost double general inflation. The large groups charged on average 18.3% more than independents, and fewer than half of their customers knew their local practice belonged to a chain.
The remedies are significant. Written prescription fees will be capped at £21 for the first medicine, compared with the £30 or more many practices charged. Practices must publish price lists, give written estimates for larger treatments and show clearly who owns them. The CMA says owners buying long-term medication online could save £200 a year or more.
Continental Europe is at an earlier stage. In Germany, corporate groups ran fewer than 5% of practices in 2024, although they tend to own the larger, more profitable clinics. That gap is the opportunity investors see. It is also the warning regulators should take from Britain.
The Next Squeeze
There are other pressures. Pet food is a meat-heavy product, and as companies face growing pressure to report their environmental impact, its footprint will draw more attention. Carbon accounting is spreading through supply chains, and Europe’s waste economy offers the industry obvious routes, from by-products to recycled packaging.
Staffing is another strain. Fewer young vets want to own their own practice, which is one reason so many owners have sold to the groups. The corporate model solves a succession problem, but it also makes the industry more dependent on a few large employers.
The Call
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