Pets at Home, the pet shop-to-vets business, has unveiled a sharp fall in pre-tax profits and warned its costs will rise as it restructures its struggling veterinary operations.
The group, which has been targeted by short sellers who are homing in on the distressed British retail sector,as households reduce their discretionary spending, said first-half profits dropped to 8m from 40.8m the same time last year.
The fall came on the back of hefty charges for restructuring the companys vet business, which Pets runs in the form of joint ventures with independent practices. Chief executive Peter Pritchard now plans to buy 55 out of the 471 practices back from the vets, which he said on Tuesday would cost the group up to 49m by 2020.
In th…
Read the full article at: https://www.ft.com/content/11435dd6-f213-11e8-ae55-df4bf40f9d0d