Member Article

Pets at Home opens new pet-friendly HQ in Orbit property

Pets at Home has opened a new pet-friendly head office in Stanley Green Business Park in Handforth, Cheshire.

The company’s HQ will now be based in Chester House, a 22,669 sq ft building owned by commercial property firm Orbit Developments, which has also been renamed in honour of the first ever Pets at Home store which opened in 1991.

The move is part of a £2 million investment to provide modern workspace for up to 300 colleagues and their pets.

Pets at Home, recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the Top 100 UK Companies to work for, has designed the offices to feature a number of firsts including a dedicated ‘dog kitchen’, and a playpark area called The Pet Park.

The Pet Park is a fully enclosed outdoor safe area with the welfare of pets up front and centre, 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).

Chester House includes 17 themed meeting rooms, three kitchens, a library and a creative lab, plus breakout areas, private phone booths, enhanced lighting and special relaxation areas – to maximise wellbeing.

Peter Pritchard, Group CEO of Pets at Home, 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. The business has come a long way since our first store opened in Chester and it seems fitting that our new building is named after it.”

The company also unveiled new names for the two other office buildings on Stanley Green, Gateshead House and Rotherham House, so called to mark the second and third Pets at Home stores to open.

Paul McLeman, Leasing Director at Orbit Developments, commented: “We have worked with Pets at Home as they have grown over the years and we are delighted to mark this special milestone for them with the opening of their uniquely designed HQ.

“They have certainly made all the properties their own, especially the head office, which now provides employees – and their pets of course – with amazing, state-of-the-art workspace. We wish them continued success.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Souter .