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Pets at Home Group Plc announced on 18 September 2025 that CEO Lyssa McGowan left the business with immediate effect, with non-executive chair Ian Burke assuming the role of executive chair. The company also provided an unscheduled FY26 trading update, revising its expected underlying PBT to a range of £90-100m, noting store sales declined 5% year to date.
| Date | 18 Sept 2025 |
| Time | 08:19:05 |
| Category | Miscellaneous |
| ID | 8695Z |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 18 SEPTEMBER 2025
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 ("EU MAR") AND ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (THE "UK") BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("UK MAR").
Board changes and profit downgrade
Pets at Home Group Plc (Company) announces that Lyssa McGowan, CEO has left the business with immediate effect.
A search has commenced for a permanent CEO.
Ian Burke, non-executive chair, has assumed the role of executive chair until a permanent CEO has been recruited.
The board would like to thank Lyssa McGowan for her commitment to leading the business since she became CEO of the business in 2022.
Pets at Home Group plc, also today provides an unscheduled trading update for FY26 reflecting our updated views on Retail trading and lowering profit guidance accordingly.
· Our existing guidance assumed a central scenario for Retail of 1% market growth against which we expected to return to market outperformance through FY26 as the investments we made in digital bore fruit.
· Through Q2, the underlying pet retail market has remained subdued, declining slightly year to date.
· Against this, we have seen the performance of the Retail business improve sequentially, narrowing the gap to the market, but the rate of improvement has been below expectations.
· We continue to see double-digit digital sales growth, outperforming the online retail market supported by our improved digital platform and strong growth in Easy Repeat subscriptions.
· In contrast, our store sales have proved more challenging, declining 5% year to date.
· Our Vet Group continues to deliver high-single digit sales growth. We are on track to deliver our planned 10 new practices in FY26, alongside 15 vet extensions and another year of profit progress.
In light of the performance gap we have seen in Retail versus our plan, we now expect FY26 underlying PBT in the range £90-100m.
Investor Relations Enquiries
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Andrew Porteous, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7740 361 849
Aaron Wood, Head of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7702 083 154
Pets at Home Group Plc:
Natalie Cullington, Head of Communications +44 (0) 7974 594 701
Citigate Dewe Rogerson:
Angharad Couch +44 (0) 7507 643 004
Pets at Home Group Plc is the UK's leading pet care business, providing pets and their owners with the very best advice, products
and care. Pet products are available online or from over 450 pet care centres, many of which also have vet practices and grooming
salons. The Group also operates a leading small animal veterinary business, with over 440 veterinary general practices located both
in our pet care centres and in standalone locations. For more information visit: https://www.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.
This announcement contains information that is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended (the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR")). Upon the publication of this announcement, such information will no longer constitute inside information. Andrew Porteous, the Company's Director of Investor Relations, is the person responsible for making the notification for the purposes of Article 17 of MAR.