Prague, Czech Republic, 19 January 2022: First Veterinary Fund Central Europe SICAV a.s., the first investment fund of qualified investors focused on veterinary care, has started operating on the Czech market. The unique fund was founded by Dušan Moskaliev, who has been a partner in the ZDR Investments real estate fund for the past four years, and Richard Švejda, a lawyer, tax advisor and founding partner of BDO and Grant Thornton. The project’s aim is to help financial resources appreciate in value through direct investments in selected reference veterinary clinics in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. Increasing the fund’s value will first be done by consolidating the veterinary clinics into a network under a single brand Medicanima and then streamlining their management, optimizing business processes, better allocating internal resource, and synergizing pooled purchasing and the efficiency of central service functions. In the next phase, individual veterinary clinics will specialise in select medical disciplines within the network, enabling the provision of top veterinary care (orthopaedics, cardiology, ophthalmology, or oncology).
The Fund’s initial activities will focus on leading clinics in the Czech Republic: first in Prague and then in regional cities. After that, there will be subsequent expansion into other Central European countries such as Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Investments in assets, specifically veterinary clinics, will be made through the První český veterinární sub-fund. Currently, final negotiations and due diligence are underway prior to signing an agreement to acquire one of the largest veterinary clinics in Prague. The latter will become the newly established Medicanima network’s first reference clinic.
“In Western Europe, the veterinary care market has undergone significant consolidation over the last five years. The trend was led by the two largest veterinary care providers, IVC Evidensia and AniCura, which employ 8,900 veterinarians in 13 countries and treat more than 7 million pets or animals. This consolidation has significantly improved the quality of care provided and the efficient functioning of veterinary clinics. The clinics’ operational processes are left to professional management, while the doctors and nurses fully devote themselves to what they do best: professional veterinary care for their animal patients. Consolidation has also brought increased investment in clinic equipment and staff professional development,” says Dušan Moskaliev, one of the fund’s founding members who is responsible for the fund’s financial management, acquisitions and investor relations. According to Mr. Moskaliev, a market consolidation scenario, similar to the one already taking place in the Czech Republic in the field of medical care, will occur not only in the Czech Republic, but also in other Central European countries. Indeed, there is a strong tradition of pet care in the Czech Republic with further growth expected. The number of pets, especially dogs, in the Czech Republic is above the EU average and is still growing. The number of veterinarians, on the other hand, is slightly below the European average and the physicians are already overloaded due to high numbers of animal patients. In the case of practice owners and senior doctors, administrative activities – operations, human resources, finance, and so on – also contribute to hard-to-manage workloads. Therefore, consolidation of veterinary clinics, professionalization of their management, and improvement of the quality of veterinary care represent a significant investment opportunity, according to Mr. Moskaliev.
The fund targets investors who intend to supplement their portfolio with alternative types of investments with a risk-dynamic return profile. These are investments whose performance is generally not dependent on the performance of traditional investment instruments (stocks, bonds). With capital growth of up to 7.0% p.a., all profits will be distributed only to shareholders with Preference Shares. In case of higher growth, Preference Shares shareholders will receive another 10.0% of profits exceeding capital growth of 7.0% p.a.
“The fund’s main advantages for investors are its uniqueness, stability and the realistic nature of the investment. First Veterinary Fund Central Europe SICAV a.s. is the first and only fund in Central Europe that offers a unique investment opportunity in a specific sector: veterinary care. The latter is a non-cyclical, steadily growing industry that is immune to macroeconomic fluctuations or financial market shocks and which has remained completely unaffected during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is thus a suitable alternative for diversifying an investment portfolio,” says Dušan Moskaliev, adding: “Another advantage of our fund compared to, for example, investment funds that focus on cryptocurrencies or start-ups, bond funds, and the like, is the realistic nature of the investment. The fund invests in existing, operating veterinary clinics and hospitals, so the investment is backed by real assets. Our ambition, in addition to increasing the value of the fund and the value of investors’ money, is to improve significantly the level of veterinary care for all involved: animals, their owners, veterinarians and nurses.”
Dušan Moskaliev
Founding Partner | Fund Financial Management, Acquisitions, Distribution
Dušan Moskaliev has been involved in financing real estate acquisitions for 21 years. Since 2017 he has also been involved in financial set-up, management, and distribution for investment funds. He has worked for Vereinsbank, Deutsche Bank, in a management position at the Czech and Slovak companies of the Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich group, as a member of the Board of Directors for Savings Cooperative. He is a Founding Partner of the ZDR Investments real estate fund group. He is a person accepted by the ČNB (Czech National Bank) for the performance of the office at financial institutions.
Richard Švejda
Founding Partner | Fund Financial Management, Acquisitions, Law
Richard Švejda has been working in the field of financial and legal consulting for the past 24 years. This includes 8 years in senior leadership roles with Big Four firms and subsequently as Partner and Senior Counsellor for Tax & Accounting at BDO and Grant Thornton. Richard is a registered tax advisor; a Czech and Slovak forensic expert in the field of accounting, taxes, customs and wages; a person accepted by the ČNB (Czech National Bank) for the performance of the office at financial institutions; and a European Commission-appointed international transfer pricing arbitrator for the Czech Republic.
About First Veterinary Fund Central Europe SICAV a.s.
First Veterinary Fund Central Europe SICAV a.s. is a qualified investor fund with a minimum investment of CZK 1 million. The Fund’s strategy is to invest directly in veterinary care in Central Europe. The fund’s underlying assets are veterinary hospitals and clinics. Securities issued are preferred investment shares (PIA). The fund’s investment horizon is at least 5 years. The supervisory authority is the Czech National Bank; the fund manager is TILLER investiční společnost a.s.; the administrator is Avant investiční společnost, a.s.; the distributor is Conseq Investment Management, a.s.; the depositary is Česká spořitelna a.s.; fund valuation
(assessments) is provided by Grant Thornton Czech Republic a.s.; and its auditor is TPA Audit s.r.o. Further information can be found at www.vetfund.cz
