Trio of new directors at South West farm vets
A leading veterinary practice that works with farmers across South West England and South Wales has appointed three new directors after celebrating its 25th anniversary and setting out its vision to maintain its independence, all in the face of widespread corporatisation of the industry.
Tyndale Vets has promoted Kit Heawood, Sam Ecroyd and Harry Dibble following the retirement of vet, Nick Eames, who co-founded the business in 1998 in Dursley near Berkeley in Gloucestershire. The trio join Tyndale’s existing directors, co-founder David Preece and Bryony Kendall, in the practice’s leadership team.
As the only independent farm-only practice in Gloucestershire, Tyndale currently employs a 32-strong team, which includes 11 highly experienced vets, with plans to recruit more vets and support staff this year. The company works across a wide area covering Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff, Usk and Abergavenny.
Its established divisions, complete with dedicated veterinary teams, span dairy, beef, sheep, dairy goats, park and farmed deer, camelids, as well as providing out of hours support and responding to emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In recent years Tyndale has also established one of the UK’s most successful advanced breeding, genetics and Bovine IVF laboratories.
Newly appointed director, Sam, said: “The veterinary industry has come under fire recently, with The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigating the corporatisation of the industry and the soaring prices the corporates charge, but at Tyndale our ethos is about maintaining our independence and putting people before profits.
“When we started at vet school the ‘James Herriot path’ was still a reality; work hard as an assistant vet, become a partner and run your own business. Sadly, that opportunity has all but disappeared for most young vets. We’re therefore incredibly lucky to have been given this chance by Nick and David.”
Sam is from a sheep farming family in Lancashire and joined Tyndale as a new graduate in 2014. He enjoys working with sheep and beef cattle and is heavily involved in Tyndale’s TB management programme. He is a key member of the practice’s advanced breeding team and heads up Tyndale Deer Services, alongside Kit.
As well as working with farmed, park and zoo deer collections across England and Wales, Kit, who joined Tyndale in 2018, is also part of Tyndale’s advanced breeding team, specifically working with small ruminants, comprising mainly deer and goats. Kit also regularly works in Mongolia and Argentina at equine endurance events and recently completed a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice.
Harry comes from a family with a background in dairy farming. Currently, they milk 200 organic pedigree British Friesians at their farm near Swindon. Harry leads Tyndale’s dairy division, concentrating on enhancing the practice’s dairy services and bolstering its clients’ business resilience.
Tyndale co-founder, David Preece, said: “Over the past 25 years, we have enjoyed the freedom of making the business our own and empowering our team to follow their interests and develop into all kinds of new and exciting areas, which has all been key to both our success and continued growth. We now work with all types of farms, estates, smallholders and even zoos, throughout the South West of England and South Wales, as well as developing our pioneering advanced breeding and IVF laboratory.
“When Nick decided to hang up his stethoscope and wellies, the whole team were sad to see him go, but we wish him well in his retirement and always plan to maintain our independence, which was Nick’s ambition, and our primary aim since we started the business.
“As a result, we’re now one of only a handful of independents in the area, following a period of major consolidation for the veterinary industry. This puts us in charge of our own destiny, meaning we can control how we work, our pricing structure and crucially our personal service levels, rather than us becoming part of a corporate machine with an ever-changing team.
“Promoting Sam, Kit and Harry to director level was an obvious way to further safeguard this freedom. All three are very experienced and popular in the farming community and there’s no doubt they’ll do a great job in helping to lead the team as we continue to build our client base and further expand our service offering, which makes it a very exciting time for us.”
Tyndale was supported through the transition by Andy Alder from Aidos Advisory, who acted as chairman to the board, as well as providing guidance, an independent voice and helping to coordinate the legal and financial aspects.
