Pets at Home Share Price Plummets as CEO Departs and Profit Forecast Slashed
Pets at Home has sent shockwaves through the City this morning after confirming the abrupt departure of chief executive Lyssa McGowan and issuing a fresh profit warning.
The double blow saw the Pets at Home share price tumble by around 20% within minutes of the announcement.
The company said McGowan had “left the business with immediate effect,” with non-executive chair Ian Burke stepping in as interim executive chair until a permanent successor is named.
The retailer, best known for its chain of pet shops and veterinary practices, has been forced to slash its guidance for the year. Pre-tax profits are now expected to land between £90 million and £100 million.
That’s a sharp downgrade from analyst expectations of £115 million and a significant fall from last year’s £133 million.
Pets at Home admitted to a “performance gap” in its retail operations, pointing to underwhelming store sales.
The group stressed that in-store earnings have slipped by 5 so far this time, while online deals continue to grow explosively in double digits.
Still, the overall pace of enhancement has fallen short of what the business had hoped.
Pets at Home was one of the big winners of the pandemic, when a surge in pet ownership pushed sales over the £1 billion mark for the first time.
Pets at home getting whacked -20% today after profit and CEO leaving.
– Looks like its just a case of the CEO getting pushed after 2 years of poor performance after coming CEO in 2022
– Now a 7% dividend yield
– Clean balance sheet
– Even with profit downgrade expected to… pic.twitter.com/A5jV8jyuIS
— JKR Investing (@JKRInvesting) September 18, 2025
At the time, management credited the lockdown era with “strengthening the emotional bond between people and their pets.”
But the post-COVID picture has been tougher. The UK pet care market has cooled, weighed down by squeezed household budgets and sluggish consumer spending.
“The pet retail market remained subdued, declining slightly year to date,” the company admitted in its trading update.
McGowan, who joined from Sky UK, where she served as Chief Consumer Officer, had been seen as a high-profile hire when she took over in 2022. Her unforeseen exit leaves a leadership vacuum at a critical time.
Before her part at Faves at Home, she also served as an executive director at Morrisons.
Ian Burke, who has been chair since 2020, will hold the reins until a permanent chief executive is secured. Investors will be watching closely for signs of stability after two profit warnings in quick succession.
Adding to the pressure, Pets at Home and several large veterinary groups remain under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The CMA is probing whether rising prices and consolidation in the vet industry are hitting competition and consumers.
Founded in Chester in 1991 by entrepreneur Anthony Preston, Pets at Home has been through several changes of ownership before its 2014 stock market float.
Bridgepoint Capital bought the group in 2004 for £230 million, before selling it to KKR in a near-£1 billion deal in 2010.
Now, a decade on from its public listing, Pets at Home finds itself under pressure like never before.
With profits downgraded, leadership in flux, and scrutiny from regulators, the coming months may prove decisive for the company and the Pets at Home share price.
