Puppy love: City falls for pets at home as shares leap

The pet store experienced a sizeable increase in sales as the people of London opt for high-end pet food.

In the three months to July 17, like-for-like sales at Pets at Home jumped 4.1%, especially thanks to pet owners’ fondness for high-end pet food

Simon Neville31 July 2014

Pets at Home proved the nation’s love affair with animals continues unabated today as sales have soared and a new TV advert for the recently floated business was viewed 1.2 million times online.

The city also seemed in love with the company, sending shares up 8% to 182.8p. However, the UK’s biggest pets retailer is still 25% off its listing price.

In the three months to July 17, like-for-like sales jumped 4.1%, especially thanks to pet owners’ fondness for high-end pet food, which has the highest margins, and continued growth in veterinary services and the company’s Groom Rooms.

Revenues from the veterinary practices jumped 18.3% with merchandise sales up 9% to £192.5 million, driven by a 8.8% rise in food sales and a 9.2% jump in accessories.

The grooming centres and vet business combined grew 27.3% to £18.3 million and new sites are planned.

Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said there might be an ulterior motive from today’s announcement.

He said: “Pets At Home has, unexpectedly come out with a trading update today and though it was apparently ‘planned’ the update is no doubt partly timed to respond to the recent alarming weakness in its share price.”

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