In its interim results for the 28 weeks to October 8, Pets at Home reported a decline in group underlying profit before tax of 5.1% to £40m, while like-for-like sales increased 5.1% to £574m. 

The specialist retailer put the profit decline down to “the one-off and ongoing costs of Covid-19”, as well as the forced closure of services like its grooming salons and the sale of animals during the first lockdown in the spring.

As lockdown restrictions were eased heading into the summer, Pets at Home reported a 44% growth in profit and 5.8% growth in like-for-like retail sales for the second quarter of the year.