Industry News

Mar- 2016 -

21 March

Meowing Heads and AATU win Cat Hampurr award

Ultra premium cat food brands Meowing Heads and AATU have won joint first place for ‘Most Popular Dry Food’ in the 2015 Cat Hampurr awards. The monthly subscription service provides deluxe sample sizes of feline friendly products including food, treats, toys and supplements to hundreds of cat-crazy customers. The subscribers…

21 March

ECI Partners acquires pet food company MPM

UK private equity firm ECI Partners (ECI) has acquired a majority stake in premium pet food company, MPM. ECI has announced plans to help finance MPM’s continuing international expansion. Macclesfield-based MPM produces high-quality, natural pet foods for cats and dogs. The company has been growing revenues by around 25 percent per annum over…

21 March

Ian Kellett named as Pets at Home’s new CEO

Pets at Home Group Plc has announced the name of its new Chief Executive Officer. Ian Kellett will succeed Nick Wood as CEO. The new appointment take place on April 4 2016. Nick Wood will remain with the Group in an advisory role until July 1 to support Ian and ensure a smooth transition. Ian…

18 March

UK pet population is 57m, says PFMA report

The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association’s (PFMA) 2016 annual report reveals the size of the current UK pet population. 11 million households are said to have pets, with the total population reaching 57 million. Fish are the most numerous companions in the UK, followed by dogs at 8.5 million and cats at 7.5 million.…

18 March

Small business confidence at lowest level in three years

A new survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has shown small business confidence was at the lowest level since 2013 from the first quarter of this year. The fall is most noticeable in London and the East of England, but all regions of the UK have seen declines.…

18 March

PDSA’s PetCheck vehicles are travelling the country

Vet charity PDSA will be back on the road in March, with its purpose-built PetCheck vehicles. The charity has travelled the length and breadth of the country every year since 2002 and has carried 66,000 free health MOTs for the nation’s dogs over the last 14 years. A specially-trained team of Community Vet…

18 March

Paris to London bike ride raises money for pet charity

Rupert Brown, owner of Muddy Paws, and friends will be taking part in the classic London to Paris bike ride in June 2016 to raise funds for good causes. “I am raising money for two charities,” says Rupert, “Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and Dorset Air Ambulance. I did the London to…

18 March

Pets at Home puts rabbit sales on hold for Easter

Pets at Home is banning the sale of rabbits in its store during the Easter period. Interest in rabbits rises over the holiday; the retail chain aims to draw attention to the number of the pets left homeless each year. Pets at Home will also hold free rabbit workshops across the country over the Easter holidays, covering…

18 March

£35,000 of stock stolen from Pet Shop

Gwent Police are appealing for information following four break-ins and a theft that occurred at the Britannia Enterprise Centre in Pengam overnight on March 15-16. Silver Star Pets was broken into and had over £35,000 worth of stock stolen including an African grey parrot valued at £900. Other stolen items included dog…

17 March

BIRA welcomes key budget announcements

The British Independent Retailers Association (bira), which has been campaigning on the rates issue since 2011, welcomed key announcements in the Chancellor’s statement. The announcement will take 600,000 premises out of paying rates and benefit a further 250,000 above the threshold. This will help both the 64 percent of shops…