First-half updates from sector-leading Pets at Home PLC suggest a modest rise in revenue – amid warning of a "subdued" market and analysis that points to a decline in our love affair with puppies and kittens.

Today's figures, which point to a "stable" pet population and include a healthy profit and bumper revenue, have immediately prompted questions among investors over whether the Pandemic-fuelled boom for pets is now fading.

The pet products and care giant, which has 461 stores in the UK and opened three more during this period, saw revenue rise by 1.9% to £789.1m in H1 2025 (to October 28). Pets at Home has stores on Gloucester's Woodrow Way, in Cheltenham's Gallagher Retail Park and  on Cirencester's Bridge Road.

That was a revenue climb of 1.6% on a like-for-like basis, with the group acknowledging its Vet Group division as a standout performer – its revenue growing by 18.6% in the 28 week period, a direction buoyed by increasing subscriptions, higher average spend per customer and increasing use of the service.

By contrast, retail saw only a 0.1% rise in revenue. Final underlying profit before tax came to £54.5m.

Lyssa McGowan, Chief Executive, said: "The first half of FY25 was characterised by a subdued market, against which we outperformed. In Vets, our differentiated joint venture model continues to drive material outperformance over peers. In Retail, our customer satisfaction is excellent, our price position is strong, and we have tight control of our cost base."

Alongside the figures, the PLC, which was established in 1991, has also warned that changes to the minimum wage and National Insurance are nbeing calculated to bring an £18m impact on its books next year.

The company says it plans to mitigate these costs through productivity programmes and more investments in automation.

Investors Chronicle reported that the PLC's figures today came against the backdrop of "a fading pet ownership boom from the pandemic and a more nervous, cost-conscious consumer" and said that sluggish performance was expected to continue into the second half of the financial year.

There were a record 35m pets in the UK in 2022, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association. This translated into 62% of households having pets, but by 2023 a downward trend was becoming evident, that figure dropping to 57%. At the latest count, there were 13m dogs and 12m cats, 1.6m indoor birds, 1.4m domestic fowl, 1m rabbits, 900k Guinea pigs, 700k pigeons, 600k hamsters, 600k tortoises and 600k horses.