Premier Veterinary Group plc (formerly Ark Therapeutics Group plc) comprises of three groups of branches based in Bristol, on the North Kent coast and around the West Midlands, Shropshire and Gloucestershire. There are 15 practices in total and are known locally as Zetland and Thanet Veterinary Groups. Zetland Veterinary Group – is a cluster of practices based mainly in the central and north-west sector of Bristol. It comprises of a main hospital in Zetland Road and seven feeder branches, with 89 employees, including 20 vets. The group handles its own Out of Hours service with dedicated night nurses and the use of daytime vets. The group performs surgical procedures at six of the eight premises and has X-ray and ultrasound facilities at four of them. Complex surgical and diagnostic procedures are referred back to the hospital, which also has its own internal laboratory. Thanet Veterinary Group – is a group based on the North Kent coast, consisting of the main hospital in Margate and two feeder branches in Birchington and Westgate. The practice has 22 employees, including 4 vets. All surgery and diagnostic procedures are performed at the main hospital, which is equipped with X-ray, ultrasound and internal laboratory facilities. Bearwood Veterinary Group - consists of 2 clinics in the West Midlands. Bearwood, which is situated in Smethwick, near Birmingham City Centre, and the other in Maypole. The group has 15 employees, including 4 vets. The clinics have dedicated and friendly teams, committed to providing excellent professional care, with the latest veterinary clinical technology.

Holding(s) company increases

FURTHER AGREEMENT IN US FOR PREMIER PET CARE PLAN
RNS
RNS Number : 0180X
Premier Veterinary Group PLC
16 February 2017
 
 
PREMIER VETERINARY GROUP PLC
("PVG" or "the Company")
 
 
FURTHER CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT SIGNED IN THE US FOR
PREMIER PET CARE PLAN
London, UK, 16 February 2017 - Premier Veterinary Group plc (LSE: PVG) announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Premier Vet Alliance (US) Limited ("PVA"), has signed a co-operation agreement with Midwest Veterinary Supply, Inc ("Midwest"), a major veterinary distributor based out of Minnesota, US.
The initial 5-year co-operation agreement is to introduce the Company's preventative healthcare programme for pets, branded "Premier Pet Care Plan" ("PPCP"), to Midwest's client hospitals, numbering over 12,000 across 35 States, located primarily in the Mid West and South East of the US.
 
Jeff Burkhamer, National Sales Manager, Midwest Veterinary Supply, Inc commented:
"Midwest is very familiar with preventative healthcare plans, but PVA is the first to come to us with a model that delivers a product led programme with a comprehensive support package and delivering an end-to-end solution.  We are a customer focused company and believe that the Premier Pet Care Plan will deliver real added value to our hospitals."
Dominic Tonner, Chief Executive Officer of PVG, added:
"We are delighted to have secured such a prestigious contract with a highly respected industry player, and we look forward to a rapid and successful roll-out of our Premier Pet Care Plan across the Midwest client base."
Update on US market
The Midwest co-operation agreement is the third co-operation agreement entered into since PVG announced its entry to the US market in May 2016, providing PVG with the opportunity to access a significant segment of the available US market. The total number of dogs and cats across the US is estimated at 70 million and 74 million respectively (U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook 2012).
In early June 2016, the Company announced that it had signed a major agreement with Veterinary Products, Inc. ("VPI"), a significant veterinary distributor co-op, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, US to promote and roll-out the Company's PPCP to VPI's member hospitals, which at that time numbered over 600 across 15 States, located primarily in the South East of the US.
At the end of June 2016, the Company issued a further announcement confirming that it had signed another major agreement in the US for PPCP.  That agreement was entered into with Merritt Veterinary Supplies Inc. ("MVS"), a leading veterinary supplies distributor founded in 1938, which at that time had 9,000 member hospitals in the South East of the US. MVS is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. 
The continued rapid rate of expansion into the US has given PVG the confidence to accelerate its investment programme in terms of people and infrastructure, including further investment in additional functionality and data capture within PVG's bespoke software system.

Update ahead of agm

No volume, up 11%

Vets flying.

Premier Veterinary warns it will take longer to become competitive in US
StockMarketWire.com
Premier Veterinary warned that it expects it to take an extra six months to become competitive in the US.

This news emerged after it identified changes to its business model that would be implemented after finding differences between the US and UK markets.

Earlier this year, the company provided an update on its activities in the US conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary, Premier Vet Alliance (US).

It expressed its confidence in the prospects for the US business and an intent to significantly increase its investment in sales, launch and business infrastructure to take the opportunity to build market share in future periods. This investment was to be funded by the proposed disposal of its buying group.

Premier Veterinary said additional investment in the US was being made and the number of hospital sign ups and pets on plan continued to increase.

Given the strong pipeline of sales, the board remained confident the opportunity to access a significant segment of the available US market still existed.

At 12:04pm: (LON:PVG) Premier Veterinary Group PLC share price was -62.88p at 177.5p

Going well.