West Midlands law firm FBC Manby Bowdler LLP has advised Wolverhampton’s largest Vets practice on a further expansion.
FBC Manby Bowdler partners Andrew Wynne and James Sage advised St George’s Veterinary Group Limited on the acquisition of a further two practices in Perton and Bushbury from Cornerstone Veterinary Centre, taking the Group’s total number of locations to six, and increasing total staff numbers to 70, of which 20 are qualified Vets.
Mr Wynne advised St George’s on all the property aspects of the deal, which involved the transfer of leases to the new owners, while Mr Sage advised on all the legal aspects of the acquisition of the businesses and transfer of staff.
Founded in Wolverhampton in 1920, St George’s is now the biggest practice in the city with branches in the centre of Wolverhampton, Albrighton, Halesowen, Sedgley and now in Bushbury and Perton.
Dedicated to treating domestic pets as well as horses through its local branches, St George’s is one of only a handful of practices in the country to have a hospital facility providing emergency treatment where a Vet and Veterinary Nurse are on the premises, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hospital also provides state of the art diagnostics and treatments such as digital x-ray, endoscopy and ultrasound.
The Group also works for Sunnyside and Birmingham Dogs Homes checking 250-300 dogs each month before re-homing.
St George’s Managing Director John Goulding said: The acquisition of these two new branches will allow us to expand our top quality animal healthcare service to more pet owners in the city, who not only will benefit from our friendly caring manner, but also from access to our state-of-the art hospital facilities.
“The practice has used FBC Manby Bowdler for over 30 years in its various guises. Andrew and James facilitated the deal to progress in a very short timescale, keeping me informed at every step, which allowed me to manage the purchase together with planning our re-launch of the new practices, at the same time as keeping our existing business progressing in an orderly fashion.”
FBC Manby Bowdler advises many Veterinary Practices across the country on a large range of legal matters including acquisitions and mergers, sales, incorporation and taxation.
Mr Wynne said: “Thanks to the experience we have acquired working for practices such as St George’s over the years and our close contacts with the rural and business communities across Staffordshire and Shropshire, we have built up a real expertise in advising Vets Practices, and we were able to bring this to bear in the acquisitions for St George’s.”
With 35 partners, FBC Manby Bowdler is one of the largest law firms in the West Midlands. The firm has offices in Wolverhampton, Willenhall, Telford, Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth.