Overview

• Publishing provisional findings, the CMA set out 21 remedies including mandatory price lists, a national price comparison tool, written estimates for treatments over £500, and itemised bills.
• The package proposes capping the fee for providing prescriptions at £16, requiring vets to flag potential savings from buying medicines online, and issuing automatic prescriptions for frequently needed drugs.
• The regulator says pet owners can pay up to twice as much for commonly prescribed medicines at practices versus online, while average vet prices rose 63% between 2016 and 2023.
• Market consolidation is a key concern, with six large groups now dominating the sector, pet owners paying 16.6% more on average at corporates than independents, and acquisitions linked to later price rises.
• The CMA opened a consultation running to 12 November 2025 ahead of a final decision by March 2026, with some measures potentially enforceable before the end of 2026 and early reactions from industry and consumer groups already emerging.