"Germany's largest veterinary clinic" has been sold: this is how things will continue

Created: 06/30/2022, 09:50 am

High activity in the Hofheim animal clinic: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

© Knapp

The Cartel Office has decided: The international chain Evidensia may take over the renowned Hofheim veterinary facility.

An extension is planned.

Hofheim -

now

The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn cleared the way for the sale of the Hofheim veterinary clinic to the veterinarians IVC Evidensia.

It was the last day of the month period in which such a decision must be made in the preliminary examination procedure, and the Cartel Office emphasizes that it did not make this easy for itself.

After all, it is "probably the largest veterinary clinic in Germany", and Evidensia is also continuing to expand "its strong position in the region".

More than 50 competitors were therefore questioned and discussions were held with chambers and associations.

The conclusion: The Federal Cartel Office "could not determine any significant restriction of competition" - and accordingly gave the approval yesterday, as reported by fnp.de.

In Hofheim (Main-Taunus-Kreis), the eagerly awaited decision brought relief yesterday.

"We are pleased that this is the case," said veterinary clinic spokeswoman Dr.

Katharina Kessler in a first statement at the request of this newspaper.

When asked what will change with the sale in the veterinary clinic, Kessler assured: "Nothing. - That was also the main reason for us to join this group," she made it clear that the team of eight owners has been with them for a very long time carefully checked which partner the veterinary clinic should join.

Tierklinik Hofheim sold: "We will continue to work as before"

It took two and a half years to do this and in the end a unanimous decision was made in favor of Evidensia, because it enables exactly what is important to everyone: "We continue to work as before and can independently decide on our medical procedure without regulations," says Kessler, who emphasizes: "We will remain what we always wanted to be" and what will remain on the building in the future despite the change of ownership: "Tierklinik Hofheim."

The previous owners will work in the clinic from August onwards as managing directors - and they will no longer bear the entrepreneurial risk for the company, which has grown steadily since it was founded in 1997.

The new construction of the veterinary clinic on Katharina-Kemmler-Straße, which began in 2015, and its equipment with state-of-the-art medical equipment alone meant an investment of millions.

According to the Federal Cartel Office, the annual turnover exceeds the 17.5 million euros, which is considered the "application threshold", i.e. a sale must be reported to the Cartel Office.

Katharina Kessler is silent on the price at which the clinic will now be sold to the internationally active Munich company Evidensia.

However, she explains that on the one hand it was "of course the difficulty of finding a successor" that led to the sale being considered.

On the other hand, the clinic management wanted the professional and personal suitability for management positions to continue to be the decisive factor, not the financial possibilities.

Tierklinik Hofheim: Shortage of skilled workers as a challenge

In addition to the use of synergies, the new owner hopes above all to provide support "in the search for the specialists that are so much needed," says Kessler.

A lack of staff means that more and more facilities are giving up their hospital status.

Maintaining operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, "that affects our substance," Kessler concedes for Hofheim as well.

The fact is: the proportion of women among veterinarians is increasing.

Out of consideration for the family, many did not work full-time - a problem in human medicine as well.

In the case of veterinarians, restrictive regulations ensure that there is a ban on working from the time the pregnancy becomes known until the last day of breastfeeding, which leads to long downtimes, says Kessler, who also confirms: "Continued to be there for everyone, 365 days a year, who urgently need help, that remains our goal".

Tierklinik Hofheim is to continue to grow

The clinic should even continue to grow, which is simply due to demand.

"We have to or want to grow again," reveals Kessler.

That, too, is something different with a strong partner than when veterinarians have to shoulder large loans on their own.

Kessler adds that nobody expects "that the chief physician is also the owner" of human clinics, to underline that in the eyes of the previous veterinary clinic owners, belonging to a group is "the path of veterinary medicine into the future ".

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The clinic's 300 employees, including 90 veterinarians, were informed immediately yesterday that the Federal Cartel Office had approved the sale.

"It's good for everyone to have a decision now," says the spokeswoman, who is certain that the entire staff of the veterinary clinic "will go along well."

(Barbara Schmidt)