Profile: Iain Menneer

ANIMALCARE is best known for providing drugs for operations on cats, dogs and rabbits, although it’s a little known fact that the group has four lions, four elephants, 12 wolves, 50 badgers, five otters and a monkey on its database.

Indeed, earlier this year the group micro-chipped the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo.

“To be that close to a panda was mind blowing,” says Animalcare’s new chief executive Iain Menneer.

The pandas were micro-chipped ahead of attempts to breed them and the world is now on tenterhooks waiting to find out if Tian Tian is pregnant.

It has been a year of transition for Animalcare and the man at the heart of it all is Menneer, who took over the top role in January.

Over the past year the group has moved to new premises in York and Menneer says that despite the massive upheaval there has been no disruption to trading.

Last week the group announced record sales and said it has returned to growth despite operating in a flat market.

Away from the glamour of working with pandas, Menneer says the best part of 2013 has been the move.

“It’s gone exceptionally well,” he says.

“It’s great to be in new premises and we’ve expanded the team to 55. It’s taken us three years to find the right site.”

For the year to June 30, the group posted an 11.6 per cent rise in revenue to a record £12.1m and underlying operating profit increased by 17 per cent to £2.7m.

“We’ve had a transitional year,” says Menneer.

“We’ve had an orderly change of management and an orderly relocation with no disruption to the business.

“It’s really good to have produced these numbers on the back of this change.”

The UK companion animal medicines market fell by 0.02 per cent in the year to December 2012, which Menneer says makes the group’s performance all the more significant.

“Pet medicines are down, but we’re double digit ahead of the market,” says Menneer.

“The growth has been driven by the launch of new products. We launch around four a year and it’s good to have new, novel products for our reps to show vets.”

The group is also constantly working on new ways to make existing drugs more appealing, such as introducing a flavour to medicine that pets like, thus avoiding the horrors of trying to get your pet to eat something he doesn’t want to eat.

Menneer likens the process to the delivery of nicotine – the market is constantly coming up with new ways to deliver it, be it in gum, patches or inhalers.

Analysts are tipping Animalcare as the next big pet drugs medicines company.

Savvas Neophytou, at Panmure, says: “Investment in Animalcare Group allows investors access to large and fast growing markets which are relatively predictable and without much economic cycle volatility. The UK veterinary pharmaceutical market is worth some £565m, with Animalcare enjoying 1.3 per cent market share.

“The group is at the start of its journey in changing its focus towards branded veterinary products which should add significant operating leverage in due course.”

Away from the medicine side of the business, Animalcare says sales from services marketed to pet owners on its microchip pet database, Anibase, are on the up and microchip sales are ahead of expectations despite competitive pressure.

Following the Government’s decision to make it compulsory for all dogs in England to be micro-chipped by April 2016, Animalcare says there will be more commercial opportunities as a result of this legislation.

The group believes that as a company selling microchips and also administering the Anibase pet database of over 3.5 million pets and their owners, Animalcare is in a strong position in this market.

The group has invested in its database so it can communicate better with pet owners. Sometimes this leads to interesting dilemmas, such as what to do when a couple splits up and there’s a dispute over custody of the family pet.

The investment means the group can also work as far afield as the far East where there is great demand for micro-chipping in falconry.

Menneer was managing director of the group before he took over the top job from respected former chief executive Stephen Wildridge in January.

Menneer joined the firm in December 2003 acting in several marketing and business development roles – notably working on the product development pipeline.

Wildridge says that Menneer was intimately involved in Animalcare’s transformation from a non-core business to a floated PLC. At the time of his appointment he described Menneer as being “eminently qualified and experienced to take Animalcare forward in the future”.

Since then Menneer has been learning from Stephen on the job.

“It’s been an interesting year – it’s certainly been busy. I thought I was busy before,” says Menneer.

“It’s been great having Stephen to work with until the start of October.”

Typically, Menneer will cycle from his home in Bubwith, a small village between York and Selby, to work – a 12-mile journey that sees him getting to the office between 7.30 and 8am.

Menneer was originally from the south having been born and raised in Wimbledon. His father was an accountant and his mother was a florist before she retired.

“She sent me an email the other day,” he exclaims. “I was so proud of her.”

Menneer went to Hampton School in Middlesex, where he gained three Cs and a D at A Level.

“My A Levels were rubbish!” he admits. “I had a year out and worked for BP and then I actually started working and became one of the top few in my year. It clicked and I worked. It came good and I went to Newcastle University.”

He gained a chemistry degree and then stayed on to do a PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry.

Menneer then landed a job that made him the envy of all his friends – researching beer.

“I worked on the bubbles. It was a great job working in a country house in Surrey. I had a lot of kudos among my friends,” he laughs.

He then joined Bass Brewers but after marrying his Halifax-born wife Jo in 2001, he decided to move to York to take on the role of reach out development manager at the University of York where he worked on the business development of the high technology research.

His next move in 2003 was to Animalcare and 10 years on, he is in the top job.

“I’d always wanted to live in the North and Jo wanted to move back,” he says.

“I had to make sure that both my daughters were born in Yorkshire. I think my father-in-law would have had a problem if they hadn’t been.”

Iain Menneer Factfile

Title: Chief executive, Animalcare

Date of birth: 8.5.70

Place of birth: Wimbledon

Education: Hampton School, Middlesex

First job: Stacking shelves in Budgens at 16 for £1.50 a hour

Favourite band: Eclectic – from dance to chart music

Car driven: Audi A5

Favourite film: The World According To Garp

Last book read- Racing through the Dark by David Millar (the cyclist)

What I am most proud of: “I’m very proud of my wife and kids and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to achieve.”