PETS at Home said it is trading in line with lowered expectations in its first financial update since the competition watchdog said it would launch a probe into the veterinary industr y.

The animal care business said fourth-quarter trends have been "broadly as expected" across its retail and vet divisions, and profit before tax will be £132m.

In January, the retailer warned that its profit would not be as high as previously forecasted after its retail sales suffered.

The Cheshire-headquartered group said that while its third quarter saw "resilient growth", progress in its retail business was "not at the levels we had expected."

It comes as the retailer is under pressure from the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) after an investigation into why pet owners are not getting value for money.

At the time, Pets at Home, which owns 450 clinics across its Vets4Pets and Companion Care brands, said it was "incredibly disappointed" with the investigation.

Shares closed up 2.71 per cent.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper