Pets at Home is a specialist retailer of pet food, pet-related products and pet accessories. The company was founded by Anthony Preston in 1991 with the first store opening in Chester (UK) that same year. After a period of organic growth the Group acquired its then larger UK rival, PetSmart UK in 1999, adding its 82 stores to Pets at Home’s 58. Since 1999, Pets at Home has opened a further 229 stores all funded from the Group’s own cash resources. Pets at Home utilises a range of different store size formats. In 2012, the company claims that it had an estimated 12% market share of the highly fragmented UK Pet Care Market. In 2001, the Group launched its in-store veterinary business.