Unavets Blog

UNAVETS Invests $5M in easyvet, a veterinary clinic franchise group in the United States

Written by UNAVETS | 25-May-2022

The UNAVETS Veterinary Group, financed by Oaktree, invests in continuous growth and moves towards new alternative business models in the veterinary healthcare industry.

UNAVETS, a leading Iberian veterinary healthcare largest group of independent veterinary clinics, backed by investment fund Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. ("Oaktree"), announces the closing of a $5 million Series A-1 funding round in easyvet, a U.S.-based limited-service veterinary clinic franchise.

The Series A-1 investment round marks a crucial advance in easyvet's ability to continue to grow and continue to provide a professional and affordable veterinary service.

Easyvet clinics offer comprehensive first-opinion care through wellness screenings, vaccinations, detection and prevention of parasites (fleas, ticks and heartworms), microchips, behavioral and lifestyle counseling, and much more to help pets live longer and happier. Easyvet has 19 open clinics in eight states, and thanks to its rapid expansion it is expected to double in size in 2022. Currently, they have 27 stores in 20 different markets in their different phases of construction.

Easyvet, the nation's first walk-in veterinary franchise, has dedicated its business to making pet care more professional and affordable for pet owners and simplifying the work of clinical teams. Easyvet offers business solutions and is transforming veterinary medicine and giving veterinarians the freedom to own and work in their own clinic. By providing franchisees with ongoing support in inventory management, financial automation, digital marketing, human resources and hiring, clinical training and learning management, facility support and data reporting, clinics can focus on the practice of veterinary medicine with easyvet as their trusted business/business partner.  

"Our partnership with the UNAVETS Veterinary Group (UNAVETS in Spain and Onevet in Portugal, the Rhapsody/Petabyte management software, and other investments across the spectrum of veterinary health), will continue to enable easyvet to provide support globally. and shared services for our franchisees. In addition, the Oaktree ecosystem will allow us to access resources, tools and economies of scale through synergies with other companies in its portfolios," said easyvet President Rivers Morrell. "This partnership aligns with easyvet's ambition and vision to enhance the veterinary profession with additional resources, augmenting learning management tools and enhancing technologies that contribute to the success of our franchisees."

Easyvet plans to use this capital to grow its resources to support clinics, increase learning management tools, focus on ways to improve the veterinary experience, and improve technologies that contribute to the success of its franchisees.

Junko Sheehan, CEO of the UNAVETS Group, comments: "We are delighted with the idea of collaborating with the Easyvet team and further expanding their offering in the USA. Easyvet offers veterinarians an alternative way to work and own their own clinic, which can be very convincing. We look forward to continuing to support Easyvet's growth plans, as well as continuing our goal of investing in veterinary healthcare in the United States and Europe."

About easyvet

Founded in 2013, easyvet is committed to providing comfortable and affordable veterinary care by veterinarians and friendly and dedicated staff. What began as a mission to make pet care convenient and affordable for pet owners has expanded to include the ability to own a clinic for both doctors and investors. For more information, visit www.easyvet.com.

About UNAVETS

The UNAVETS Group occupies a leading position in the veterinary health market in Iberia (through UNAVETS in Spain and Onevet in Portugal), developing in two and a half years a group that offers shared services and commercial/development support to its 69 veterinary centers and more than 600 team members. The group is made up of reference/specialized centers, 24-hour hospitals, first opinion clinics and offices, thus guaranteeing a comfortable and complete service.

It has plans to continue its growth strategy in Iberia and other European geographies, while developing new service lines, innovating with digital engagement internally and with its customers, and promoting veterinary health training and scientific development within the clinical team. For more information, visit www.unavets.com

UNAVETS was funded in December 2019 by Oaktree, a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $164 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2022. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed stocks. The company has more than 1,000 employees and offices in 20 cities around the world. For more information, visit the Oaktree website in www.oaktreecapital.com