Pets at Home collars profit

World Cup fever has led to barking, or football-mad, Britons clothing their dogs in England shirts, Pets At Home revealed yesterday.

The retailer of pet food and accessories said it had sold 20,000 England tops for dogs, and enjoyed a 36 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £54.2m for the year to 25 March. Pets at Home, which was bought by Kohlberg Kravis Robert for £955m in January, also saw its underlying sales rise by 8.8 per cent. The company plans to open 150 new shops to add to its 256 branches.