Pets at Home is the United Kingdom's largest pet supplies retailer, with more than 450 stores and 6,000 employees. The company sells products including food, toys, bedding, medication, accessories and pets. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The first store was opened in Chester in 1991, by Anthony Preston. In December 1999, Pets at Home acquired Petsmart UK, bringing a chain of 140 stores under Pets at Home branding. In April 2004, Pets at Home was sold to Bridgepoint Capital for £230 million. The sale was completed in July 2004. In November 2007, the 200th store, Barnstaple, opened. Pets at Home has also started global expansion with two stores opened in Melbourne, Australia. The two stores opened in Maryland have since been taken over. On 27 January 2010, Pets at Home was sold by Bridgepoint Capital, to United States-based investment firmKohlberg Kravis Roberts for around £955 million. The 17September 2012 episode of BBCconsumer affairstelevision programmeWatchdog included a report on animal and fish welfare conditions at Pets at Home. The programme had visited eight stores, as part of an investigation which included Mike Jessop, former president of the Small Animal Veterinary Association. The programme discovered evidence of mistreatment of small animals, dead fish being left to rot and be eaten in tanks, and sick small animals up for sale. That month, Pets at Home subsequently issued a full response to the claims made in the broadcast. In March 2014, the company was the subject of an initial public offering.
Operations
The company works with 405 veterinary surgeons who practice from its stores and in 2015 there were a total of 338 veterinary practices in joint partnerships with the company. They are generally small businesses which pay a percentage of turnover as a management fee to the company for back office services. The company runs a graduate training scheme intended to produce future joint venture partners. The company owns Vets4Pets, a Guernsey-based veterinary business which operates a national network of joint venture partner veterinary practices focusing on treatment of small animals. The company enters into joint venture partnerships with veterinary professionals to open new small animal practices. These practices are supported by 2 main support offices located in Swindon and Manchester which provide partners and their practices with full administrative support.
