Award-winning retail chain Ark Pet Centres, which has been in operation for over 30 years, has closed all of its four stores in Devon.

In a statement of its Facebook page, the company told its customers: “It is with huge regret and sadness that we announce that after 30 years of trading, we will be shutting our doors for good as of today– 23rd April. This affects all stores.

“Whilst we have all worked incredibly hard to weather the economic storm, we can no longer sustain the increasing pressure and huge rising costs, and with more increases on the horizon, we have had to make the heartbreaking decision to cease trading.”

Just four years ago Ark Pet Centres was crowned UK Retailer of the Year at the PetQuip Awards 2022.

The retailer added in its social media post: “We would like to thank our wonderful team who have worked hard to make The Ark what it was – and we truly wish them all the very best for the future.

“To our loyal customers – thank you, we appreciate you and we truly will miss serving you and your pets.

“We never set out to be a ‘pet shop’, we wanted to be a place where local people could get help and advice on pet care from people they trusted, and we’re proud to have done that for the last 30 years.

“We have loved every minute of this from day one, thank you for being part of our journey.”

The Ark Pet Centres stores were located in Plymouth, Paignton, Plymstock and Exeter.