UK pet company enters administration after 27 years

Pet Planet, based in Livingston (West Lothian, Scotland), launched in July 1999 and over the past 27 years has become “a trusted destination for everything pets need”.

The Pet Planet website reads: “We pride ourselves on offering a wide variety of high quality products and building lasting relationships with our customers.

“We’re here to make sure your pets have everything they need to live their happiest, healthiest lives!”

Pet Planet enters administration

After nearly 27 years, Pet Planet is now at risk of closing after collapsing into administration, according to Companies House and The Gazette.

James Stephen and Kiri Holland have been appointed administrators.

What happens when a company goes into administration?

When a company enters administration, it means that it is unable to pay expenses, debts, or other liabilities, according to SquareUp.com.

Companies House adds: “When a company goes into administration, they have entered a legal process (under the Insolvency Act 1986) with the aim of achieving one of the statutory objectives of an administration. This may be to rescue a viable business that is insolvent due to cashflow problems.

“An appointment of an administrator (a licensed insolvency practitioner) will be made by directors, a creditor or the court to fulfil the administration process.”

A statutory moratorium is put in place once a company enters administration, giving it “breathing space” to allow for financial restructuring plans to be drawn up free from creditor enforcement actions.

A company can continue to trade while in administration, but daily management and control are handed over to the administrators.

Companies House continues: “Within 8 weeks it is the administrators’ role to formulate administration proposals.

“Creditors are then asked to vote by a decision procedure to approve the administrators’ proposals.

“If the administration involves a sale of all or part of the company’s business, the proceeds (after the costs of the procedure) will be distributed to creditors in a statutory order of priority.”

Administration will end automatically after 12 months unless the administrator asks the court or creditors for an extension.

Through administration, a company can be:

• Rescued and passed back to the directors
• Enter liquidation
• Be dissolved

Other UK companies that have closed or entered administration/liquidation in 2026 (so far)

It has been a rough start to 2026 for the UK high street, with several other retailers entering administration and others announcing widespread store closures.

Major high street retailers, including River Island, Primark, and Poundland, have already been forced to close stores in 2026, while Revolution and BrewDog shut the doors to 21 and 38 pubs, respectively.

Several other retailers have fallen into administration, including:

Meanwhile, four UK travel companies have closed in 2026:

EcoJet Airlines, billed as “the world’s first Electric Airline”, also entered liquidation after just three years, resulting in the cancellation of all planned flights.

UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.

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It’s also been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.

It’s not been all bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.

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