Affordable and Sustainable Pet Care Initiative Launched
Social enterprise Animal Trust launches £2 million crowdfunding campaign A veterinary social enterprise is seeking to raise £2 million of investment crowdfunding to help grow its services in England and Wales. Animal Trust, which is set up as a community interest company, has launched its new bond offer on the Triodos Crowdfunding platform. Animal Trust’s mission is to make good veterinary treatment more affordable and accessible for pet owners earning the Real Living Wage. In line with this, the social enterprise seeks to open sites in areas where the available veterinary services are too expensive for local residents. It targets locations that are either within, or accessible to, lower earning individuals and families and currently operates across Cheshire, North Wales, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Shropshire and Yorkshire. Animal Trust’s priority is the health and care of the animals that they see. As a community interest company, it reinvests the majority of its profits back into the business. This allows Animal 12 | Total Grooming Magazine
Trust to provide more comprehensive veterinary care for pets, while keeping the costs affordable. It provides free consultations for sick and injured animals brought to the surgeries, to ensure that pets are seen as soon as they become ill. A total of 3.2 million households in the UK have acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic and it’s estimated the country now has 17 million petowning homes[1]. Faced with this increasing demand, Animal Trust is keen to grow its surgeries to make its services accessible to more pet owners on lower incomes. Animal Trust is seeking to raise £2 million through a crowdfunded bond to support the fitout of two recently acquired surgeries and to support further growth. Initially set up as a private limited company, the founder and chief executive Owen Monie, restructured the business into a community interest company (CIC) in 2020. For Animal Trust, sustainability is about making a difference to communities and patients, while minimising environmental impact and being financially sustainable over time. The CIC structure ensures profits
are re-invested back into the social objectives of the business, rather than being used solely to maximise financial return for the founder. Owen Monie, chief executive of Animal Trust, commented: “We believe that pet ownership isn’t just for the wealthy and every animal deserves access to experienced and professional veterinary care as soon as they become ill. We aim for someone who earns the Real Living Wage to be able to afford care for their pet at Animal Trust. We run our business for our customers and our staff and do it as sustainably as we can. In the near future, we also hope to become the first B Corps certified veterinary business in the UK.” Investment is available from £50 and the £2 million, five-year bond will pay 6% per year interest. It is also available within the tax-efficient Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) wrapper. As with all investments, interest payments and return of capital are not guaranteed and like all ISAs, the IFISA is subject to eligibility criteria. More information can be found on www.triodoscrowdfunding.co.uk.
