Pets at Home facts for kids
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| Public limited company | |
| Traded as |
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| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Anthony Preston |
| Headquarters | Handforth, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Ian Burke (Chairman) Lyssa McGowan (CEO) |
| Products | Pet supplies |
| Revenue |  £1,476.6 million (2024) |
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Operating income
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 £145.5 million (2024) |
| £79.2 million (2024) |
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| Divisions | Vets for Pets Pets Grooming |
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Pets at Home Group PLC, often called Pets, is a large company in the United Kingdom. They sell many things for pets, including small animals like rabbits, hamsters, and fish. You can also find pet food, toys, bedding, and even medicines there.
The company started in 1991 and now has 453 stores across the UK. They also have an online store where you can buy products. Besides selling items, Pets at Home offers services in their stores. These include pet grooming, veterinary care for sick animals, and even dog training classes.
In March 2014, Pets at Home became a public company. This means its shares can be bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange. It is part of a group of important companies called the FTSE 250 Index.
Contents
History of Pets at Home
How Pets at Home Started
The very first Pets at Home store opened in Chester in 1991. It was started by a person named Anthony Preston.
Growing Bigger
Pets at Home grew quickly over the years. In December 1999, they bought another company called PetSmart UK. This added 140 more stores to the Pets at Home family.
In July 2004, the company was sold to a group called Bridgepoint Capital. They paid about £230 million for it. By November 2007, Pets at Home opened its 200th store in Barnstaple.
In January 2010, Pets at Home was sold again. This time, it was bought by a US investment firm called Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) for a much larger amount, around £955 million.
A big step for the company happened in March 2014. Pets at Home offered its shares to the public for the first time on the London Stock Exchange. This is called an initial public offering (IPO). It meant anyone could buy a small part of the company. KKR, the previous owner, sold its remaining shares in Pets at Home in January 2018.
What Pets at Home Does
Stores and Services
Pets at Home runs 453 stores across the UK. Inside many of these stores, you can find other helpful services. They have 316 grooming salons where pets can get their fur trimmed and cleaned.
Vets for Pets
The company also has 394 veterinary surgeries, which are like animal hospitals. These are run as "joint ventures." This means a vet or vet nurse partners with Pets at Home to open their own practice. Pets at Home helps them with things like administration and support. There are also 47 vet practices directly managed by the company.
Vets for Pets focuses on treating small animals like dogs, cats, and rabbits. They have support offices in Swindon and Manchester to help all the vet practices.
Animal Welfare Concerns
In September 2012, a TV show called Watchdog on the BBC looked into animal welfare at some Pets at Home stores. The show raised concerns about how some small animals were being cared for.
Pets at Home quickly responded to these claims. Later, in June 2016, the BBC clarified that the original online report had not fully included Pets at Home's side of the story. The BBC acknowledged this was a serious mistake and updated the report to include the company's responses.
