The UK competition watchdog’s provisional findings on the £6.3 billion veterinary services market have drawn a muted response from analysts, who say the proposed reforms are unlikely to materially impact listed players like CVS Group (AIM:CVSG).
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published 21 recommendations aimed at increasing transparency and reducing costs for pet owners.
These include demanding vets show price lists on websites, provide written treatment estimates above £500, make clearer ownership disclosures, and a cap of £16 on prescription charges.
Vets will also be required to point customers to cheaper online medicine options.
Panmure Liberum called the proposals "pretty tame" and "even more benign than we were expecting", with no attempt seeming to be made to some feared measure such as limiting the pricing for veterinary pharmaceuticals, pushing consumers to generic medicines or forcing larger groups to make disposals.
"The prescription cap won’t have a material impact on CVS (it charges £18 last time we checked) and nor will the proposed levy to help fund the RCVS and an bi-annual consumer survey.
"Most of these changes are already in place or in the process of being put in place and we expect that even if all of these provisional findings make it into the final paper, the impact will be limited."
However, Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said for the wider vet sector it "represents a significant change", and welcomed measures to improve transparency, especially given the strain rising vet costs place on household finances during the cost-of-living crisis.
She noted that the CMA proposals followed warnings that harsh changes could result in money flowing out of the UK markets.