LONDON — Cirkle has been appointed as Pets at Home’s UK consumer and corporate communications agency after a competitive pitch.

The work will span all consumer, corporate communications and CSR work for the UK’s largest pet care company, which operates 451 stores and 475 vet practices across the UK and most recently reported annual revenues of £899m.

Havas Manchester was the incumbent agency, while Maitland currently looks after the retailer’s financial communications account.

Cirkle’s brief is to help Pets at Home continue its dominance of the £4.5bn UK petcare market, with a focus on brand awareness and showcasing the breadth of its services, which include grooming, training, nutrition and vet services as well as retail pet food and accessories.

Pets at Home director of investor relations and corporate affairs Amie Gramlick said: “In order to bring to life our mission of ‘Being the Best Pet Care Business’, we wanted to take a fresh look at our consumer communications approach. We look forward to working with Cirkle to bring our one-stop pet care offering, including veterinary services and grooming, to the UK’s pet owners.”

Managing director Ruth Kieran said the win was particularly well received by the agency team, who between them own more than 40 animals: Cirkle has a dog-friendly office policy and the pitch team included one of the team's dogs.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to be chosen to represent this brilliant brand both personally and professionally,” she said. “We’ll be working with the Pets at Home team to bring to life their unique pet care offer, ensuring the business remains ahead of the pack in this highly competitive sector.”

Pets at Home joins other clients including Morrisons and Thorntons in Cirkle’s Retail Division. The agency’s wider client portfolio includes Birds Eye, Britvic, Goodfellas, Aunt Bessies, GSK (Aquafresh, Corsodyl, Voltarol), Premier Foods (Mr Kipling, Oxo, Bisto), Ferrero (Nutella, Tic Tac) and PepsiCo (Quaker, Walkers, Tropicana).