Business

New market research has shown that the value of the European pet food market will grow to £21.4bn by 2021. The growth is said to be due to owners who are willing to spend more on premium pet food in order to improve the health of their pet. According to…

Dog food brand Fish4Dogs has undergone a £100,000 extension and refurbishment of its offices and acquired a new building following a recent boost in sales. The work, has been undertaken to house Fish4Dogs’ growing workforce, its dogs (staff can bring their dogs to work) and increase capacity for its operations…

A 46-year-old local pet shop in Forest Gate is to close blaming gentrification of the area for its demise. Smallholders Pet & Aquatic Centre opened in 1948 and its current owner, Kevin Shaw, 46, has worked at the store for 19 years. He said Forest Gate and especially the area…

Independent pet shop, Pets Pantry has won the title of ‘Warrington Retailer of the Year 2018’. The 38-year-old pet shop came top of a selection of “extremely high” nominees according to Warrington Business Awards, who described the winner as exemplifying “what a great collective ‘can do’ attitude we with have…

Wales is considering a ban the sale of puppies in pet stores and through third parties. The plans would make it harder for puppy farmers to sell and are aimed at reducing the number of animals separated from their mothers. A third-party ban on puppies would mean the only way…

Trade association the Pet Industry Federation (PIF) and Hadlow College in Kent have extended their joint venture and officially opened a dog grooming school in the Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG). The Hadlow PIF (Greenwich) Dog Grooming School will offer City and Guilds qualifications for dog groomers which are recognised…

A market analyst has predicted shares in Pets at Home will drop by 2.7% down to 120p by the end of the week, on par with its lowest ever one year result. The analyst, Liberum Capital has recommended traders to sell shares after it predicted the opening price of 123.3p…

Dog holiday service Barking Mad and dog walking and boarding company We Love Pets have both been shortlisted in this year’s Bfa HSBC Franchise Awards. Barking Mad has been named as a finalist in the Brand Awareness category while We Love Pets has made the shortlist in the Emerging Franchisor…

Pet food manufacturer Mars Petcare is continuing to expand the veterinary leg of its business with the acquisition of European veterinary business AniCura for an undisclosed amount. This follows Mars Petcare’s recent purchase of British veterinary group, Linnaeus. AniCura was established in 2011 by Fidelio Capital and The Animal Hospital…

Mars Petcare has announced that it has acquired UK veterinary group Linnaeus from private equity firm Sovereign Capital Partners. On completion of the transaction, Linnaeus will become a unit within Mars Petcare’s Veterinary Health Group. Linnaeus was founded in 2014 on the Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service following its acquisition by…