CUSTOMER STORY

Scaling to 450+ Veterinary Locations with Leasecake

See how PetVet Care Centers, an industry leader with over 450 locations, revolutionized their lease management strategy to drive extraordinary growth and efficiency in pet healthcare.

Background

PetVet Care Centers started out by joining forces with local veterinary practices, and after KKR’s acquisition in 2017, they quickly accelerated into a nationwide leader in pet healthcare. As Lee Allen, Head of Real Estate and Portfolio Services, puts it, “Our goal is to make high quality, veterinarian care more accessible to pet owners nationwide.” In the early days, each department—be it operations, finance, or legal—handled their own lease details using spreadsheets, binders, and old-fashioned databases. This made sense when the company was small, but as they expanded, the scattered information began to create problems.

Locally-led hospitals with a global support network.

PetVet Care Centers grew quickly by teaming up with locally owned veterinary practices, and a clear vision: “Our goal is to make high quality, veterinarian care more accessible to pet owners nationwide.”

Challenges

With over 450 locations on the map, keeping track of a complex mix of lease agreements became a real headache. Data was all over the place, which meant it was time consuming to see a clear, big-picture view of their portfolio. New acquisitions brought along its own unique lease terms—some with complex clauses around indemnification, escalation, or exclusivity. This decentralized approach made it hard to measure performance and negotiate better deals, leaving the team with inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

Decentralized Data and Processes:
Lee noted, “a lot of the corporate real estate function was decentralized.” This meant that lease information was stored in spreadsheets, binders, and legacy systems—making it hard to gain a comprehensive view of the portfolio.
Inconsistent Lease Terms:
With acquisitions coming from a variety of local practices, the organization inherited a myriad of lease clauses ranging from indemnification and escalation to exclusivity. “Our lease management strategy… was not fundamentally addressed or appropriated the attention it should have been.”
Operational Inefficiencies:
Without a centralized system, tracking key performance indicators such as revenue per square foot, market potential, and operational efficiency was challenging. This lack of visibility made it difficult to negotiate favorable terms or identify underperforming sites.

"Leasecake has been incredibly transformative for our team as we grow. Their innovative platform not only streamlines our lease management but also delivers powerful insights that drive smarter, faster decisions every day."

Lee Allen

Head of Real Estate and Portfolio Services, PetVet Care Centers

Solution

Realizing the need for an overhaul, PetVet Care Centers turned to Leasecake—a modern lease and location management platform designed to clear up the chaos. Leasecake started by gathering all the scattered lease information into one neat digital space, eliminating the endless manual work. As Lee Allen puts it,

“Leasecake has been incredibly transformative for our team as we grow. Their innovative platform not only streamlines our lease management but also delivers powerful insights that drive smarter, faster decisions every day.”

With everything centralized for PetVet Care Centers and KKR, the next step was to harness the power of technology. Leasecake’s platform uses AI to sift through complex lease agreements and generate easy-to-read portfolio scorecards. This real-time insight into metrics like revenue per square foot and operational efficiency has been a game changer. “AI is really enabling us to make strategic decisions on a more rapid basis,” Lee explained, highlighting how technology now drives faster, smarter decision-making.

But the benefits didn’t end there. With all lease data in one place, the team could proactively flag any unfavorable clauses and negotiate improved terms—especially when working with long-term lease proposals, typically structured as 10-year base leases with optional extensions. And while the process was being standardized, Leasecake still allowed for local market data to be integrated, ensuring that each site’s unique dynamics were taken into account during negotiations and renewals.

Results

Streamlined Operations

Centralized data and AI-powered analytics have transformed how the team manages over 450 locations. What used to be a time-consuming manual process is now a quick, data-driven exercise.

Improved Negotiations

Armed with comprehensive portfolio scorecards, PetVet Care Centers can now confidently renegotiate lease terms, identify opportunities for cost savings, and optimize operational performance. Lee emphasized that the approach has “given us some advantages in the market” and allowed for more proactive management of renewals and relocations.

Actionable Insights for Growth

With consistent, portfolio-wide data at their fingertips, the organization is transitioning from a phase of standardization to one of optimization. This not only reinforces their current operations but also positions them to scale even further while mitigating real estate risks.

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