• Jessica Frame, incoming CEO, has previously held senior leadership roles at Tesco, BCG and NutriCentre
• Sally Bailey, incoming Chair, was the CEO responsible for transforming White Stuff into one of the UK’s leading outdoor lifestyle brands
• The Vet now has six sites across the UK, with new clinics due to launch in the year ahead

The Vet, which provides affordable, accessible veterinary healthcare for pets, announces the appointment of Jessica Frame as chief executive and Sally Bailey as chair.

Jessica joins from NutriCentre, a specialist health food retailer, where as managing director she delivered step-changes in the company’s digital offering, commercial terms, supply chain and team culture, and gained a strong grounding in running expertise-led B2C businesses. She had previously been Customer Strategy & Foresight Director at Tesco, focusing on proposition development, innovation and customer-led strategies; and before that she spent a number of years at Boston Consulting Group, where she specialised in retail, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

Sally is an experienced CEO and non-executive director with over 25 years’ experience in multi-channel retailing. From 2004 to 2013, she was the CEO and part-owner of White Stuff: under her leadership, the business grew from a £13m turnover outdoor brand into a £113m lifestyle retailer, and was listed in the Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For on six consecutive occasions. She now works as a non-executive director and currently chairs Kin&Co, a strategic communications agency, and Braintree Clothing, an ethical clothing brand.

Jessica Frame, Chief Executive of The Vet, said:
“The Vet has the potential to be a true disruptive challenger brand in the market. Our unique proposition is designed for pet owners, based on a real understanding of their lives, and our clinical teams combine expertise and empathy to provide a differentiated service. Initial customer feedback has been loud and clear: they love what we’re doing. I’m really excited to join the team to lead the business to the next phase of innovation and rapid growth.”

Sally Bailey, incoming Chair of The Vet, said:
“I am delighted to be working with Bridges on this exciting venture. I look forward to bringing my knowledge and experience of building successful customer-focused multisite businesses to support the growth of The Vet.”

The Vet was launched in 2013 by Bridges Ventures, the specialist sustainable and impact investor. It aims to provide a low-cost full-suite veterinary service for domestic pet owners, primarily operating in underserved areas of the UK where affordability of veterinary care is a significant barrier. The Vet offers consultations from as little as £14.99, and healthcare plans starting at £4.99 per month – plus ample parking space, no need for appointments, experienced clinical staff and longer opening hours. The Vet opened its first site in Bristol in 2013 and has since expanded to five other locations.

Garret Turley, partner at Bridges said:
“We’re delighted to bring Jessica and Sally on board; we think it’s testament to The Vet’s huge potential that we’ve been able to attract such high-calibre people. We launched the Vet because we saw a gap in the market for better, cheaper and more flexible veterinary services right across the UK – and the success of the six sites we’ve opened to date has provided ample evidence of this. We’re confident that under Jessica’s leadership, and with Sally’s support, we can continue and even accelerate this growth to build a national consumer champion.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Bridges Ventures

Bridges Ventures LLP is a specialist fund manager focused exclusively on sustainable and impact investment, with offices in London and New York. It invests in high-impact SMEs, properties and social sector organisations that can generate attractive financial returns alongside positive societal impact, focusing on four key impact ‘themes’: health & wellbeing, education, sustainable living and under-served markets. Since it was founded in 2002, it has raised almost £800m across its Sustainable Growth, Property and Social Sector funds.