What the Vet Market Investigation Means for UK Owners

Health

24 Apr

Prices, choice and what's changing. The short version: More price lists, cheaper prescriptions and fewer nasty surprises at the till.

The consultation took ten minutes. Your greyhound was examined, admired and given a biscuit, and left looking extremely pleased with themselves. Then the receptionist reads out the total, and you hand over your card with the calm face of someone quietly cancelling a weekend away.

If that sounds familiar, you weren't alone. The UK's competition watchdog spent two and a half years looking at vet prices. Here's what it found, what's changing and when you should start to notice.

Who looked into it, and why

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK's competition watchdog. It started reviewing the vet sector in September 2023 after concerns about prices, turned that into a full market investigation and published its final report on 24 March 2026. The legally binding Order that puts its remedies into effect was published on 22 September 2026.

It covers the whole UK. If you're in the Republic, our post on corporate vet groups in Ireland is the one for you.

What it found

None of this will shock anyone who's owned a hound with a delicate tummy.

Prices were hard to findFewer than 40% of practices had prices on their websites, and only 29% of people got written prices for non-routine treatment.
Ownership was hard to spotFewer than half of people using a practice in a large group knew it was part of a chain.
Medicines cost more than they needed toMore than 70% of owners bought long-term medication from their vet, even though buying elsewhere could save £200 or more a year. Many practices charged £30 or more for a written prescription.

Earlier in the investigation, the CMA reported that vet prices rose by 60% or more between 2016 and 2023.

What's changing

The headline changes are refreshingly practical.

Price listsPractices must publish standard prices for common services and medicines.
Prescription fees cappedNo more than £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for each extra one on the same prescription.
Written estimatesFor treatment expected to cost £500 or more, you get it in writing first.
Ownership on showPractices must make it clear if they're part of a group.
Easier comparisonPrice information will be shared through the vets' regulator, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, so comparison sites can use it.

When you'll see it

Not all at once. The Order was made in September 2026, and the CMA has set out when each rule starts.

Larger businesses (15 or more practices)Standard price lists by December 2026, the prescription fee cap by March 2027 and written estimates and itemised bills by June 2027.
Smaller businessesPrice lists by March 2027, and everything else by September 2027.
EveryoneOwnership information goes up at every group by March 2027, and price comparison through the regulator's Find a Vet service follows in September 2027.

The government is also planning to reform the law that governs vets, which dates from 1966, so that vet businesses, not just individual vets, answer to a regulator.

What it means for sighthound owners

Sighthounds are regulars at the vet. Greyhound teeth alone keep plenty of practices busy, and an older hound on long-term pain relief can mean a prescription every month. That's where the new rules help most.

Ask for a written prescriptionFor ongoing medicine, compare the price with the fee cap in mind. The savings add up over a year.
Look at the price listBefore a planned dental or procedure, check what's published and ask what's included.
Get it in writingEven under £500, it's fair to ask for a breakdown before you agree to anything.

Fairer, not cheap

None of this makes vet care cheap, and good care is worth paying for. What it should mean is fewer surprises and a fairer chance to compare. Every hound is different, and so is every bill, but at least you'll be able to see what you're paying for before you pay it.

Your hound, for the record, still rates every practice purely on the biscuits.