Pet-friendly HQ for Pets at Home

Pets at Home has opened a new, pet-friendly head office – Chester House – at Handforth, the result of a £2m investment in an expansion of its existing Handforth headquarters.

Outside, Pets at Home has invested in a Pet Park, a fully enclosed, safe area designed with the welfare of colleagues’ pets in mind and, as such, is split into different zones and textures for inquisitive paws.

It includes toys, ramps, tunnels, water stations and a warm shower for muddy paws – and boots.

An internal competition to name the new building was won by Sue Richardson, a central data manager and one of the retailer’s longest serving colleagues, and Leanne Friar, development small projects manager, who chose the name Chester House in recognition of the first Pets at Home store that opened in 1991 in Chester.

Founder of Pets at Home, Anthony Preston, and his wife, Margaret, were invited to the opening of the new headquarters by group chief executive, Peter Pritchard. Mr Pritchard said: “From the Pet Park to the meeting rooms and kitchen spaces, our new state-of-the-art home and workplace has been built with our colleagues and their pets in mind.

Image: Peter Pritchard, left, and Anthony Preston