WHO WE ARE OUR APPROACH YOUR JOURNEY OUR INVESTMENTS NEWS INVESTOR LOGIN CONTACT US Status: Realised Date: 2014 to 2018 Sector: Healthcare & Pharma Services Buy & Build: 21 Acquisitions / Roll-out / Investment capital www.linnaeusgroup.co.uk BACK TO INVESTMENTS LINNAEUS GROUP The Linnaeus Group was established following Sovereign’s 2014 platform investment in Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service, one of the largest and most highly regarded small animal specialist veterinary centres in the UK. During the period of Sovereign's investment, 21 more businesses joined the Group. Today Linnaeus is recognised as one of the leading providers of veterinary services in the UK. INVESTMENT BACKGROUND Peter Renwick and Malcolm McKee, both veterinary surgeons, had grown their practice (Willows) from a single site into one of the largest and most respected veterinary referral centres in the UK. Having decided to retire they set out to find a buyer for Willows. Peter explains: “Sovereign recognised our premium product and were keen to build upon it. We felt they would give Willows the best chance of strengthening its position in a changing marketplace – a business that would have the funding and infrastructure to grow. We introduced Lynne Hill to Sovereign as a potential CEO. She had successfully run multidisciplinary facilities and, crucially to us, she was also a vet. Sovereign were prepared to look at that and Lynne was appointed." A deal was structured that enabled Peter and Malcom to step back from running the business day-to-day and become Non-Executive Directors whilst retaining a shareholding. VALUE CREATION Succession planning: Brought together a highly experienced management team to take the business forward Buy & Build: 21 Acquisitions / Roll-out / Investment capital; the Group's geography and service offering expanded Sites grew from 1 to 87, including 5 specialist referral centres EBITDA increased by more than 700% THE GROUP AT EXIT With Sovereign’s investment and support, a significant Buy & Build strategy was undertaken to create a market-leading veterinary group. A further 21 veterinary businesses joined Linnaeus, attracted by the opportunity to be part of a well-invested organisation with an ethos of care and quality. As well as adding further specialist referral hospitals to the Group, Linnaeus built a network of first-opinion, general practices around each referral hospital to diversify Linnaeus’ offering and to expand its geographic reach. At the end of Sovereign's investment the Group was recognised as one of the UK’s leading veterinary groups and had: 87 sites including 5 state-of-the-art specialist referral centres, a team of over 1400 including c.360 vets an enhanced breadth of specialist services including: orthopaedics, ophthalmology, neurology, soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, oncology, dermatology and cardiology Linnaeus was acquired in June 2018 by Mars Petcare’s Veterinary Health Group, a part of Mars, Inc., which was a natural fit for the Group. BACK TO INVESTMENTS IN THEIR OWN WORDS Sovereign recognised our premium product and were keen to build upon it. We felt Sovereign would give Willows the best chance of strengthening its position in a changing marketplace – a business that would have the funding and infrastructure to grow. Peter Renwick / Co-founder / Willows HOME WHO WE ARE Our Values Our Story Our Team OUR APPROACH YOUR JOURNEY Accelerate Growth Sell your business Own the business you run OUR INVESTMENTS NEWS CONTACT US Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy All Content © Sovereign Capital 2021 SOVEREIGN CAPITAL PARTNERS 25 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EX Get Directions T:+44 (0)20 7340 8800 Email Site by Chaos Our website uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. AGREE & CLOSE