A SPECIALIST veterinary clinic that treats animals from across the south has been sold as part of a £100million deal.

Anderson Moores, which cares for cats and dogs referred to its nationally and internationally recognised vets, was put up for sale by its owner Pets At Home.

It will be owned by rival the Linnaeus Group, which is part of Mars Petcare.

Based in a converted granary at Hursley near Winchester, Anderson Moores sees animals from Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and beyond.

Pets At Home said the sale of five specialist sites would allow it to focus on customer-facing activities in its stores and its First Opinion vet services.

The deal will see Pets At Home receive £80m in cash on completion – expected early next year – and a further £20m if certain financial targets are hit.

Peter Pritchard, chief executive of Pets At Home said: “This disposal does not deviate from our core focus of providing customers with affordable, convenient, engaging and flexible pet care solutions through our growing online platform.”

He said Pets At Home already had 440 First Opinion veterinary practices, which tend to be found inside stores.

Pets At Home has been pushing to offer more services inside its warehouse-style stores, with services including grooming parlours, while online services include dog walking and cat sitting bookings.

The move comes a day after the company revealed it had bought telephone and video appointment vets business The Vet Connection (TVC), as more pet owners turn to online services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Pritchard added: “Linnaeus is a well-regarded operator of veterinary practices with a strong and established track record of practice management.

“We hold them in high regard, and they will be a great home for our highly-skilled colleagues in the specialist group, underpinned by an ongoing commitment to specialist multi-disciplinary veterinary care, supported by Mars.”

Anderson Moores provides seven-day, round-the-clock services including anaesthesia, cardiology, a feline hyperthyroid clinic, neurology, oncology, physiotherapy and soft tissue surgery.

The other practices involved in the sale are Dick White Referrals in Cambridgeshire, Northwest Veterinary Specialists in Cheshire, Eye Vet in Cheshire and Veterinary Specialists Scotland in Livingston.