Belvoir Vets, Grantham's only independent practice, looks back on strong start after winning start-up award

The town’s only independent vets has won an award for its success in its first year in business.

Belvoir Vets was victorious in the Best New Start-Up category at the 2022 Grantham Journal Business Awards.

Duncan & Toplis, sponsors of the award, noted how Belvoir Vets had “achieved significant early growth in what is considered to be a very competitive market”.

The sponsor also said that the vets had demonstrated its “success in its infancy” and “built a strong foundation” which has “excellent prospects for the future”.

In October 2021, Cees Bennett and Gemma Newbold opened Belvoir Vets next door to the Miller & Carter steakhouse in Barrowby Road.

The pair, who met while studying at the Royal Veterinary College London, have over 30 years of experience between them and wanted to create a locally owned and independent practice after working for large corporate vets.

Gemma initially worked in Grantham for two years before moving to an equine practice in Yorkshire. Meanwhile, after university Cees went into the Royal Army Veterinary Corps where he was based in Rutland and Melton.

Earlier this year, Belvoir Vets invested £22,000 in new surgery equipment, making it the only practice in the Grantham area able to offer laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery. The business also gained gold accreditation as a cat friendly clinic from the IFSM (the veterinary division of the charity International Cat Care).

Cees explained what it meant to win the award and discussed some of the challenges that Belvoir Vets faced in its first year.

How did it feel to win the award so soon after starting the business?

It felt like an affirmation and recognition that we’ve got the idea and feeling of the business right and that it is valued by our clients. It is one thing to passionately believe in something and in a way of working and something else entirely for it to be independently judged and viewed positively.

Why do you think the business stood out to the judges?

I would like to think we stood out not just because of the rate of our growth and the nearly 2,000 clients we now have registered, but because what we have done in the first year is just the building block for being successful and being here to serve the people of the area for years to come. The core idea of who we are and how we want people and their pets to feel is what makes us different and now we look forward to building the years of trust that come from being a more mature business.

Tell us a bit about what you do as a business?

We are the only independent veterinary practice in Grantham and provide high level, bespoke veterinary care to small animal pets, including everything from consultations and medication to advanced surgery and diagnostic tests.

What are your plans for the coming year?

We intend to continue to grow the team to make sure as we continue to take on new clients that the experience remains the same – personal, not rushed and friendly. We are also investing in some new equipment to allow us to offer an even more rounded service.

Have you had any highlights or challenges this year?

Our biggest highlight has to be winning this award! However I would say each time we take on a new member of the team it feels like a little mini highlight as it shows how much we are growing and also how much these new people trust in the business to come and join us.

Our biggest challenge has not so much been the year we’ve been open but rather the difficulty of setting up in the pandemic where everything was harder to get arranged and interactions with people were so limited.