Pets at Home's expansion into the veterinary and animal grooming markets has continued to pay dividends for the Cheshire group, with sales rising by almost 8% in the third quarter of its financial year.

The company said total revenues jumped to £182.2m in the 12 weeks to 1 January 2015, up by 7.8% compared with last year. Merchandise revenues grew by 6.5% to £168.2m, while service sales were up by 26% to £14m.

During the third quarter, Pets at Home opened seven new stores, bringing gross openings in the first nine months of its financial year to 17 and a total portfolio of 392 stores. Five veterinary practices and eight 'groom rooms' were also opened during the quarter, bringing the total portfolios to 308 and 160 respectively.

The Handforth-headquartered retailer expects gross openings of at least 25 stores, 60 veterinary practices and 50 groom room in the 2015 financial year.

Nick Wood, chief executive of Pets at Home, said: "We are very pleased with the continued growth in like-for-like sales. This reflects the strength of our offer, the multiple levers through which we can drive growth, and the resilience of the pet products and services market."