Pets at Home said group sales grew by 9.6 per cent to £223.3 million, with merchandise revenue up nine per cent to £193.4m, and services revenue growth of 13.6 per cent to £29.9m.

In a trading update for the 12-week period to January 4, the retailer reported third quarter like-for-like sales growth of 7.2 per cent. Pets at Home its merchandise business saw like-for-like revenue growth of 6.8 per cent, with good performance from in-store sales, as well as from omnichannel initiatives, including in-store orders and subscriptions.

It added that services like-for-like revenue rose 10.1 per cent in the period, reflecting strong growth in first opinion and specialist referral vet services.

Pets at Home opened two Pets at Home superstores, two Vets4Pets practices and five Groom Room salons in the period, and is on track to deliver full year opening targets of around 10 superstores, 40-50 vet practices and 20-30 grooming salons for the full year.

Ian Kellett, Pets at Homes’ group chief executive, said: “In the year since we launched our lower pricing initiatives we have seen a really strong customer response to the investments we have made.

“At the same time, we continued to deliver strong growth in our veterinary business across both first opinion practices and specialist referral centres.”