Foot in a new door Vet reveals next venture
CELEBRITY entrepreneur and former Townsville veterinarian Glen Richards is helping to drive the next big industry consolidation in podiatry and physiotherapy.
Dr Richards, who built a veterinary practice in Currajong, Townsville, into Australia’s largest pet care company, listed group Greencross now valued at $ 500 million, is looking to repeat the formula with an allied health entity called Healthia.
Healthia will bring two brands, My FootDr and Allsports Physio, under a new entity which is expected to list on the Australian Securities Exchange in July.
Dr Richards, also a panellist on Channel 10’ s Shark Tank program, was in Townsville yesterday to launch a My FootDr podiatry centre at the Willows shopping centre.
My FootDr entered the Townsville market in 2016, acquiring Jayne Arlett’s Townsville Podiatry Centre located in Mundingburra.
In the same year it merged with Balance Podiatry, a Queensland group of 13 centres which included two stores in Townsville.
Dr Richards joined My FootDr three years ago to help with its growth strategy and is now chairman of a national group with 50 stores with plans for expansion.
“It is a story which in many ways echoes my early days building Greencross Vets,” Dr Richards said.
My FootDr was founded by podiatrists Greg Dower and Darren Stewart in Brisbane in 2004.
Its centres are equipped with state- of- the- art podiatry equipment providing services including laser therapy and custommade orthotics.
Podiatrist Trent Johnston is the group’s Townsville partner and was recently involved in the official podiatry team for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
JCU Fire basketball player Darcee Garbin is a star brand ambassador for My FootDr.
Dr Richards said Healthia would be a co- ownership model assisting young clinicians into business ownership as well as providing avenues for succession, support and collaboration.
“The thing about a lot of our professions is that it can be quite isolating,” Dr Richards said.
By being part of a collaborative network, podiatrists and physiotherapists could have access to better education, get help with their marketing, receive back- end support with HR management and administration and track their progress with benchmarking.
A prospectus for an Initial Public Offering is expected to be available in the next four weeks.