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Sell up of veterinary practices continues
The transaction is Sovereign’s  largest sale to date.
Sovereign sells Linnaeus Group to Mars

Mars Petcare’s Veterinary Health Group has bought the Linnaeus Group from Sovereign Capital Partners, the UK private equity buy and build specialist.

The transaction is Sovereign’s seventh exit from its third fund, and represents its largest sale to date.

Sovereign backed the original Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in September 2014, before undertaking to create the Linnaeus Group.

At exit, it had made 21 acquisitions, including North Downs Specialist Referrals, Avonvale, VRCC Specialists Referrals and Village Vet.

The group expanded from one to 87 sites in England, including five referral centres, and grew from a team of 120 to more than 1,400.

No financial terms have yet been disclosed.

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.