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Pets at Home Group Plc released its Q1 FY26 Trading Statement on 31 July 2025 for the 16-week period ending 17 July 2025, reporting consumer revenue up 0.4% to £591m and Group statutory revenue down 1.9% to £435m. During this period, Vet Group consumer revenue increased by 7.1% while Retail consumer revenue declined by 3.0%; Pets Club members grew by 1% to 8.1 million, and subscriptions represented 14.5% of consumer revenue. The company also progressed a £25m share buyback, completing approximately 25% in Q1 and reducing its share count by around 2.7 million shares, and adjusted its FY26 underlying PBT guidance to a range of £110-120m.
| Date | 31 Jul 2025 |
| Time | 07:00:13 |
| Category | Trading updates |
| ID | 2862T |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 31 JULY 2025
for the 16 week period to 17 July 2025
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Consumer revenue1# up 0.4% to £591m against a still subdued market backdrop. |
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Vet Group consumer revenue# up 7.1%, high-quality growth driven by higher average transaction values and increased numbers of Care Plans. This continues a track record of strong growth with consumer revenues c40% higher over a 3-year period. |
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Retail consumer revenue# down 3.0%, with sequential improvement, as we moved beyond the transition of online sales to Stafford DC, delivered against a subdued market backdrop with no growth in the pet retail market. |
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Group statutory revenue declined 1.9% to £435m, with Group like-for-like2 (LFL) revenue down 1.9%. |
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Vet Group revenue growth of 6.2%, and LFL of 7.8%, reflecting strong consumer revenue growth and continued progress in converting company-owned practices into Joint Venture practices. |
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Retail revenue down 3.0% YoY, with LFL2 sales down 3.0%. |
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Gross margins have been resilient to date, whilst maintaining our determination to remain price competitive, and cost control remains strong across the business as we work to mitigate the previously disclosed £20m externally imposed cost headwinds in FY26. |
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Customer metrics remain healthy with retail customer satisfaction improving further and vet satisfaction maintained at very high levels. Our latest external Brand Track measures also saw an increase in customer 'value for money' perception. |
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All our key performance indicators saw progress as we continue to deliver against our strategy. We grew Pets Club customers by 1% to 8.1m, with Average Customer Value3 up 1% YoY. |
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Our digital platform saw improved performance as we exited the transition of sales to our Stafford DC, with digital sales returning to double-digit YoY growth. |
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Subscriptions momentum continues, now representing 14.5% of consumer revenue5. Q1 saw Care Plan numbers increase further and saw particularly strong growth in Easy Repeat helped by the launch of Easy Repeat In Store. |
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We launched Pets Club Pricing, giving access to the very best deals across 1,300 products to our 8.1m Pet Club members. |
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We continue to grow vet capacity and are on track to meet our target of at least 10 openings and 15 extensions in FY26 opening 2 practices and completing 2 extensions in Q1. We continue to win vet talent, with clinical FTE headcount6 up 5% YoY and welcoming 42 new practice owners in the quarter. |
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We have implemented the biggest change to our Retail operating model in recent history, streamlining and simplifying our management, colleague and pay structures. This forms a critical part of our ongoing productivity program for FY26, which remains on track. |
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Insurance continues to progress in line with plans and on track for a 2026 launch. |
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At our FY25 results we set our FY26 guidance based around an assumption of 2% growth in the pet retail market. While this scenario assumed improving growth through the year, the market growth rates experienced through Q1 have been below those initial expectations. |
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Against this subdued market backdrop, we are pleased to have delivered sequential improvement in our relative performance and continue to expect that we will outperform the retail market over FY26. |
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We have also made significant progress in our productivity programs, which underpin our efforts to mitigate the cost headwinds we face in FY26, and we remain committed to our guidance of limiting operating cost growth to 5%. |
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However, given the subdued retail market growth rates seen to date, we expect market growth to now be around 1% and adjust our guidance range to reflect this, now expecting underlying PBT# in a range of £110-120m. Vets continues to perform strongly and is on track to deliver further progress in FY26. |
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Where we end up in our updated range is mostly dependent on the trajectory of retail market growth through the second half of FY26. Reaching the top end of guidance would require a step up in market growth, while the bottom end of guidance would imply a continuation of current subdued market trends through the remainder of the year. |
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All other guidance is unchanged, and we expect our H1/H2 profit shape is expected to be broadly in line with prior years. |
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Our balance sheet remains robust and we are progressing our £25m share buyback having completed c25% in Q1, reducing our share count by c2.7m shares. |
We are pleased to have seen momentum in our business build through Q1, against a subdued market backdrop and uncertain consumer environment. Progress has been made across all 4 of our strategic metrics in the quarter, including growing our subscription revenues by over 40%, growing Pets Club members, increasing average spend and continuing to grow our Vet talent as we continue building the world's best pet care platform.
As ever it is our people, and their unrivalled expertise, that continue to drive our business. I would like to thank our colleagues and vet partners for their ongoing passion and dedication to creating a better world for pets and the people that love them.
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Strategic KPIs |
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FY26 Q1 |
FY25 Q1 |
YoY |
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Number of active Pets Club members4 (m) |
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8.1 |
8.0 |
0.9% |
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Average Consumer Value3 (£) |
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180 |
1787 |
1.2% |
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% of Consumer Revenue from Subscriptions5 (%) |
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14.5% |
10.3%7 |
40.8% |
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Clinical FTE Headcount6 (k) |
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3.5 |
3.3 |
5.2% |
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1. |
Consumer revenue includes total revenue across the Group including consumer sales made by Joint Venture vet practices, and therefore differs to the fee income recognised within Vet Group statutory revenue. |
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Like-for-like revenue comprises total revenue in a financial period compared to revenue achieved in a prior period, for stores, omnichannel operations, grooming salons, and vet practices that have been trading for 52 weeks or more. |
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Average consumer value (ACV) is the average spend of active Pets Club members across the group over the last 365 days based on consumer revenue as defined above, rather than statutory revenue. |
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Number of active Pets Club members who transacted across the group in the last 365 days prior to the end of the reporting period. |
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Subscription revenue includes our Flea & Worm, Easy Repeat, Complete Care and Vac4Life plans and is divided by Group consumer revenue. |
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Full time equivalent number of all vets and nurses working across the group, based on standard working hours. |
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7. |
Restated |
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Consumer Revenue YoY Growth# |
Q1 25 |
Q2 25 |
Q3 25 |
Q4 25 |
Q1 26 |
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Retail |
(0.8)% |
1.1% |
(2.4)% |
(5.2)% |
(3.0)% |
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Vet Group |
13.3% |
12.6% |
14.2% |
11.9% |
7.1% |
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Group |
3.6% |
4.7% |
2.3% |
0.2% |
0.4% |
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LFL# Revenue Growth |
Q1 25 |
Q2 25 |
Q3 25 |
Q4 25 |
Q1 26 |
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Retail |
(0.8)% |
0.9% |
(2.8)% |
(5.5)% |
(3.0)% |
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Vet Group |
19.5% |
15.3% |
19.9% |
9.6% |
7.8% |
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Group |
1.0% |
2.2% |
(1.0)% |
(4.0)% |
(1.9)% |
Our next scheduled update will be our FY26 interim results announcement on 26 November 2025.
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Investor Relations Enquiries |
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Pets at Home Group Plc: Andrew Porteous, Director of Investor Relations |
+44 (0) 7740 361 849 |
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Aaron Wood, Head of Investor Relations |
+44 (0) 7702 083 154 |
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Media Enquiries |
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Pets at Home Group Plc: Natalie Cullington, Head of Communications |
+44 (0) 7974 594 701 |
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Citigate Dewe Rogerson: |
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Angharad Couch |
+44 (0) 7507 643 004 |
in our pet care centres and in standalone locations. For more information visit: http://petsathomeplc.com/
This trading statement does not constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any Pets at Home Group Plc shares or other securities nor should it form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. It does not constitute a recommendation regarding any securities. Past performance, including the price at which the Company's securities have been bought or sold in the past, is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. Certain statements in this trading statement constitute forward-looking statements. Any statement in this document that is not a statement of historical fact including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's future plans and expectations, operations, financial performance, financial condition and business is a forward-looking statement. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among other factors, changing economic, financial, business or other market conditions. These and other factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described in this statement. As a result you are cautioned not to place reliance on such forward-looking statements. Nothing in this statement should be construed as a profit forecast.