Portland Vets' History

Read about our history below, or visit our practice locations to discover the services we provide and to book an appointment. You can also contact us and book quickly and easily using PetsApp – click the widget at the right of our website.

How Portland Vets began

George and Jenny Christopherson opened Portland Road Vet Surgery in May 2004 after falling in love with, and converting the beautiful 1890’s house in Portland Road to a modern specialised Veterinary Practice.

They came to East Grinstead with the vision of opening a high standard, friendly, caring, veterinary practice for the four-legged (and less) members of the family, and are very proud of the high level of service and expert care Portland Vets is now able to offer its clients. Investment in our substantial facilities, equipment and team has been a real priority and we are so proud of the exceptional standard of practice we are able to offer our clients and most importantly their pets.

The practice is still small enough to see the vet of your choice and this is actively encouraged for continuity of care.

Learn about our Independent Practice

Unrivalled patient & client care

Many of our vets hold or are studying for qualifications in specialist areas but more importantly have been hand chosen for their dedication empathy and kindness. We have lost count of the number of times our clients have joked that they wish they could be booked in to our ‘private hospital’ for their own procedures! In 2014 we opened a new surgery in Edenbridge with the same Portland Vets ethos and care.

Our nurses are integral to the care of our patients and are led by Natasha Killick RVN and Sarah Pearce RVN. The standards they set for us as a practice are exacting in all areas – especially patient care, communication, and hygiene. It is clear they are proud of their practice and love providing the ‘extra’ care that can be lost in a busy hospital.

George and Jenny have been lucky enough to have two lovely girls since they opened Portland Vets – Ella and Sienna and this has strengthened their resolve even further to keep Portland Vets as a family orientated, local, friendly business. In fact, our team have produced a very impressive 14 babies since 2007 and team outings take a very different look these days!

A growing independent vet practice

In 2007, George and Jenny started Lingfield Equine Vets at a suitably large site in Felbridge (northern edge of East Grinstead). This dedicated equine practice has also steadily grown to 9-10 vets and ownership is now shared with two partner vets. A further large expansion will be constructed in 2021 as the practice moves towards become the first equine veterinary hospital in Surrey. (www.lingfieldequinevets.com)

In 2013 Portland Vets opened a branch surgery in Edenbridge, and 2018 another surgery in Horley, which has recently expanded. Both surgeries have partners dedicated to each site and our recruitment and training programs ensure that the Portland Vets exceptional standards exist at whichever practice our clients and patients attend. George is working on a fourth surgery. News coming soon!

In 2018, George also set up a Bovine specialist farm practice with a highly qualified vet, which is also based at the same site as Lingfield Equine (www.greencountiesvets.uk). In 2020 this business expanded into Alpaca and Llama care as paddocks and an operating theatre are available for in-patient treatment and care.

A family-owned business

After living above the East Grinstead surgery for the first few years, George and Jenny moved to a house a few minutes’ drive from the East Grinstead surgery. Jenny is working a lot less now as with both daughters being very sporty (doing club sports 6 days a week) she is the child taxi driver who also helps manage the Edenbridge Swimming Club and some of the East Grinstead Netball teams. It won’t be many years before they are flying the coup. George is a Trustee Director of the East Grinstead Sports Club, a charity that owns the large sporting facilities in Saint Hill Road in East Grinstead, where they have facilities for Cricket, Netball, Hockey, Football and a range of indoor sports.

George now runs all practices behind the scenes and is enjoying a completely different life to his previous corporate background. The veterinary world has seen a lot of change in the last 15 years with nearly 50% of businesses being now owned by corporate companies. We are very proud to be a family company who are not beholden to shareholders and boards. We can treat each pet as an individual and focus on the care that your pet needs.

We count ourselves very lucky to have jobs that we love, a fantastic family and such a wonderful team to work alongside.

Get in touch with us at East Grinstead