Keith Chandler
Chairman
Keith grew up with pets all around in his household and it was a natural route for him to become a veterinarian. He’s since kept ponies, sheep and cattle but now just looks after a couple of tremendous dogs and a tortoise, who are all important parts of his family. He lives between his homes in Edinburgh and in the Highlands of Scotland, with his wife Rachel, also a vet, and their three children.
Keith's Professional Profile
Keith qualified as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Glasgow in 1993 and from there he worked in a number of veterinary clinics across the UK, Australia and for a short period in Oman. He opened his first clinic in 2004 and by 2011 he owned four clinics treating a range of species and employing over 50 people, including nearly 20 veterinarians.
His group of clinics joined Independent Vetcare (now known as IVC Evidensia) in 2013 and he subsequently joined their nascent M&A team, ultimately becoming Director of M&A for the UK & Ireland, where he led a high-performance team that completed over 600 acquisitions in less than a decade, making it the most successful healthcare M&A programme of all time.
Transactions varied between £500k and >£60m in Enterprise Value and at some stages during the programme, the team was closing on a transaction every 2 business days. During his tenure at IVC Evidensia, he found the time to complete an MBA, with a specialism in Finance, from the University of Edinburgh Business School.
Keith has an in-depth knowledge of the vet sector and animal healthcare more broadly, as well as a deep understanding of the role of Private Equity investments in these sectors.