REG - Wickes Group PLC - Interim Results 2025
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RNS Number : 6804Y Wickes Group PLC 10 September 2025
10 September 2025
Wickes Group Plc - Interim Results 2025
for the 26 weeks to 28 June 2025
Strong profit growth driven by increase in volumes across both Retail and
D&I
FY25 expectations unchanged
Financial Summary
• Total revenue of £847.9m (H1 2024: £803.2m) +5.6% year-on-year
• Continued strong volume growth in Retail(1) with revenue +6.8%; Self-help
actions in Design & Installation(2) driving return to LFL growth(3) in Q2
• Adjusted profit before tax(4) +16.7% to £27.3m (H1 2024: £23.4m) reflecting
revenue growth, operational leverage and productivity savings
• Statutory profit before tax of £24.2m (H1 2024: £22.9m)
• Net cash position of £158.0m (H1 2024 £152.4m) after £24.8m returned to
shareholders
• Interim dividend declared of 3.6p (H1 2024: 3.6p)
• £20m share buyback programme ongoing
Strategic Highlights
• In Retail, volume-led revenue growth driven by 10% TradePro sales growth, with
increase in active members(5) to 615,000 (H1 2024: 541,000), combined with
mid-single digit growth in DIY sales
• Record Retail market share(6) with particular gains in timber, garden
maintenance and decorating
• Strong project volume growth in Design & Installation, driven by actions
taken to enhance customer experience
• Digital investments underpin growth and productivity
• 1 new store opened in a former Homebase site and 4 refits/refreshes completed.
Good progress on plans for 5-7 new stores and 10-15 refits/refreshes in 2025
• UK's #1 retailer in Financial Times Europe's Best Employers 2025
Current Trading & Outlook
Trading in Q3 so far has been in line with expectations. The phasing of
increased people costs and new stores will impact more fully in H2; our
technology investment in SaaS projects(7) will increase P&L costs by
c£10m on a full year basis. Notwithstanding these cost increases, our
strong first half performance and ongoing productivity programme mean that we
remain comfortable with current consensus expectations(8) for adjusted PBT in
2025.
Our Q3 trading update will be released in late October. An investor insight
event will take place on 14 October, focused on our Design & Installation
business, with further details to follow in due course.
David Wood, Chief Executive of Wickes, commented:
"Wickes has delivered a strong first half, with volume growth across the
Group. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their continued hard
work and dedication, providing outstanding customer service and helping the
nation feel house proud.
"In Retail, we have achieved record market share growth and have prioritised
convenience, choice and speed, helping grow TradePro sales by a further 10%.
With DIY, our focus on broadening appeal and innovating in strategic
categories has seen more customers choose Wickes to bring their home
improvement projects to life. In Design & Installation, the actions we
undertook to enhance the customer experience have seen us return to like-for
like sales growth, ahead of the wider market for big ticket items.
"Our proven strategy is working. Whilst we remain mindful of the cost
headwinds facing the sector as a whole, continued investment in our growth
levers and digital initiatives means we are well positioned for the future and
remain comfortable with market expectations for the full year".
Summary of full year financial results
£m 26 weeks to 28 June 2025 26 weeks to Change
29 June 2024
Statutory revenue 847.9 803.2 5.6%
Retail 634.4 594.0 6.8%
Design & Installation Ranges 213.4 209.2 2.1%
Statutory gross profit 308.8 289.7 6.6%
Gross profit margin 36.4% 36.1% +0.4ppts
Statutory operating profit 37.0 34.9 6.0%
Operating profit margin 4.4% 4.3% N/A
Statutory profit before tax 24.2 22.9 5.7%
Adjusted(4) gross profit 312.0 289.2 7.9%
Adjusted gross profit margin 36.8% 36.0% +0.8ppts
Adjusted(4) operating profit 40.1 35.1 14.2%
Adjusted operating profit margin 4.7% 4.4% +0.4ppts
Adjusted(4) profit before tax 27.3 23.4 16.7%
Adjusted(4) basic earnings per share 10.0p 7.1p 40.8%
Basic earnings per share 9.0p 6.9p 30.4%
Interim dividend 3.6p 3.6p N/A
Investor & Analyst meeting
A presentation for investors and analysts will be held today at 8.30am (UK
time), followed by a Q&A with the Wickes management team. A live webcast
can be accessed here: https://brrmedia.news/WIX_HY_25
(https://brrmedia.news/WIX_HY_25)
A recording will be available on the Wickes Group Plc website after the event:
https://wickesplc.co.uk (https://wickesplc.co.uk)
Enquiries
Investors and Analysts Media
Holly Grainger Lucy Legh, Will Smith, Eleanor Evans
Director of Investor Relations PR Advisers to Wickes
+44 (0)7341 680426 +44 (0)203 805 4822
holly.grainger@wickes.co.uk (mailto:holly.grainger@wickes.co.uk) wickes@headlandconsultancy.com (mailto:wickes@headlandconsultancy.com)
About Wickes
Wickes is a digitally-led, service-enabled home improvement retailer,
delivering choice, convenience, value and best-in-class service to customers
across the United Kingdom, making it well placed to outperform its growing
markets. In response to gradual structural shifts in its markets over recent
years, Wickes has a balanced business focusing on three key customer journeys
- TradePro, DIY (together reported as Retail) and our project-based Design
& Installation division.
Wickes operates from its network of 230 right-sized stores, which support
nationwide fulfilment from convenient locations throughout the United Kingdom,
and through its digital channels including its website, TradePro mobile app
for trade members, and Wickes DIY app. These digital channels allow customers
to research and order an extended range of Wickes products and services,
arrange virtual and in-person design consultations, and organise convenient
Home Delivery or Click & Collect.
Forward looking statements
This announcement has been prepared by Wickes Group Plc. To the extent it
includes forward-looking statements, these statements are based on current
plans, estimates, targets and projections, and are subject to inherent risks,
uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ
materially from the future results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Neither Wickes Group Plc, nor any of its officers,
Directors or employees, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee
that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking
statements in this announcement will actually occur. Wickes Group Plc does not
undertake any obligation, other than in accordance with our legal and
regulatory obligations, to update or revise any forward-looking or other
statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
Business review
Market
The UK home improvement sector represents a large and attractive market of c.
£27bn(9). Within this market we have a significant opportunity for long-term
growth, given our relatively small market share of around 6%. The challenging
trading conditions of the last two years have resulted in the exit and/or
restructuring of retailers such as Homebase, Carpetright, CTD Tiles and Wilko,
presenting an opportunity for strong businesses of scale, such as Wickes. The
market has grown at c. 2.5% per annum on average over the past ten years,
driven by the high average age of the UK's housing stock, the rising number of
UK households and increasing home ownership. Specialist DIY sales are forecast
to grow by 2.6% per annum between 2025 and 2030, according to Mintel(10)
driven by improved confidence and expected improvement in the housing market.
There are a number of macroeconomic trends which affect our market. Whilst the
Wickes home improver customer base has not been immune from cost of living
pressures (such as increased mortgage rates or rents), they tend to be
slightly older and more affluent than the UK average. Moving house is often a
trigger to undertake major home improvement projects over time and the rate of
UK housing transactions remains stable on an underlying basis(11). Wickes has
virtually no exposure to civil engineering or the new-build housing market,
given that our customers are mostly home improvers and independent
tradespeople. Consumer confidence in the UK has remained subdued and savings
rates remain high(12) with consumers cautious of undertaking major home
improvement projects.
Britain's 29.8m(13) homes are among the least energy efficient in Europe,
losing heat up to three times faster than in continental Europe(14). The
average household energy efficiency rating for England and Wales is band D(15)
and the UK government estimates that 33% of homes with a loft do not have loft
insulation(13). At Wickes we are committed to helping our customers improve
the energy efficiency of their homes and save money on their energy bills.
Our August 2025 Mood of the Nation survey showed that planned spend by UK
consumers on a new kitchen or bathroom remains below historical norms, but
stable over recent months. The survey also showed that local trade
professionals remain busy, with 1 in 4 having a pipeline of work of more than
12 months. For DIYers it showed that there is continued interest in home
improvement but with a focus on smaller projects. Convenience and speed are
becoming increasingly important, with almost 60% of customers expecting faster
deliveries and also prepared to pay more for same-day service(16).
Progress against strategic growth levers
The company's strategy, as outlined at the time of the 2021 demerger, has
delivered strong operational progress centred around developing and extending
the Group's growth levers. These contribute to an improvement in our products
and services, saving our customers time and money. Continued investment in the
following growth levers will drive further market share growth in the coming
years:
1. Winning for trade
2. Accelerating Design & Installation
3. DIY category wins
4. Store investment
5. Digital capability
6. Enhanced store service model
7. A winning culture
1. Winning for trade
Our TradePro membership scheme continues to attract local traders, who choose
Wickes for its strong value credentials and simple discount scheme, high
quality products, availability on the lines that matter most, as well as the
convenience of our Click & Collect service, which has now been enhanced
from 30 minutes to just 15 minutes.
Sales from TradePro members increased by 10% year-on-year in H1 2025. The
strong growth in the number of active customers to 615,000 was partially
offset by a slight decline in average basket size as tradespeople have been
managing their material quantities more carefully.
TradePro members benefit from our rewards programme, with access to special
deals on services such as skip hire, insurance and media subscriptions.
We continue to use behavioural analytics to understand the drivers of average
spending by decile. Our proprietary and market-leading machine learning model,
the Mission Motivation Engine (MME), drives deeper customer relationships and
extracts greater lifetime value.
2. Accelerating Design & Installation
The positive momentum within Design & Installation has continued.
Following the actions taken in H2 2024 to enhance our customer offer, we
achieved a third consecutive quarter of ordered sales(17) growth in Q2 2025
and the first quarter of positive LFL delivered sales(18) growth since Q2
2023.
This improvement has been driven by the enhancements we have made to the
business in what has remained a challenging market. In response to customer
feedback, we have simplified the customer journey and now present a unified
Wickes Kitchens and Wickes Bathrooms offering, rather than separate Bespoke
and Lifestyle paths. This new approach encompasses brochures, website,
advertising and promotions. We have streamlined the customer journey in store
by ensuring that new customers are able to interact directly with a Design
Consultant as soon as they begin the design process, and by increasing the
availability of Design Consultants. Customers are now able to book an
appointment instantly with a Design Consultant, through our website, in the
store of their choice, replacing a more cumbersome telephone booking system.
We also use a technological solution for scheduling installers, with our
Customer Experience Centre overseeing the multi-stage installation process.
We have launched a number of strategic initiatives for 2025 and beyond, such
as range enhancements into high-end kitchen appliances such as SMEG. The
launch of eight new colour choices in our Lifestyle kitchens range has
expanded our breadth and enabled us to capture new customers, such as those
seeking pastel colours, like Ohio Pink. We are preparing to launch a Paint to
Order service for kitchen cabinets this autumn to offer further choice.
Wickes Solar is now sold in our entire store estate. We have installed
gondola-ends in prominent locations displaying solar panels, batteries and
inverters for customers to see and touch, as well as smaller point-of-sale
materials around the stores and in the areas where customers sit with Design
Consultants. These physical changes, in combination with the digital journey
on the Wickes website, have led to Wickes-generated leads now representing
over 80% of total Wickes Solar installations. Around 100 Wickes Design
Consultants have now been trained to offer Wickes Solar in store and in the
home, which is proving popular in a market where customers particularly value
face-to-face advice.
The market for domestic solar installations in the UK is in long-term growth,
with the market estimated to be worth £1.5bn pa by 2028(19). It is a highly
fragmented market with no clear brand leader. With a trusted brand and
significant experience in design and installation services at scale, Wickes is
well-placed to be a market leader in home energy solutions. We have an option
to purchase the remaining 49% of the issued share capital of Solar Fast by May
2029, in tranches of not less than 10% of the issued share capital, based on a
valuation of 6x the last twelve months EBITDA at the time.
3. DIY category wins
Our market share in Retail has reached record levels, with strength across
numerous categories, particularly in timber, garden maintenance and
decorating.
Wickes continues to appeal to an ever broader audience as we grow our key
strategic categories. Paint is a gateway category, which features in the
majority of home improvement projects. This year we have further evolved our
'colour valley' in order to maximise our market share growth opportunity by
improving the colour choice proposition for DIY customers. This has involved
re-flowing our decor bays and has enabled us to increase capacity. This has
created additional space for colour mixing, which is now also available
online. We have had a full range review of decorative attachment categories,
covering brands and price architecture. Other range reviews have included
lighting (introduction of matt black downlights, new solar energy range),
locks (introduction of new finishes), more Wickes branded nuts & bolts,
new Pro Wickes power tool range, flooring (new moisture-resistant laminate
range), tiling and radiators (new products online).
Our Customer Satisfaction metrics are very strong, with 85% of customers
responding that our Click & Collect service was 'excellent' or 'good' and
85% of customers responding that their home delivery was 'excellent' or
'good'.
We continue to focus on what matters to our customers, namely the importance
of convenience, choice and speed. Our Click & Collect promise has
recently been enhanced from 30 minutes to just 15 minutes. Our Wickes Extra
range offers customers easy access to our extended range online. The recent
launch of Wickes Rapid enables customers to place orders of up to 800kg for
local delivery to their home or site within three hours. This highly
differentiated service, with a specialist partner, is available seven days per
week on over 10,000 SKUs.
4. Store investment
Investment in our store network continues, to modernise the stores, improve
our showrooms and create additional fulfilment space.
Our refit programme continues to deliver good returns with strong sales
uplifts, particularly from the Design & Installation areas, where we are
able to showcase our full offer of kitchens and bathrooms. The refits enable
us to upgrade the efficiency of multi-channel order pick and despatch, which
drives sales densities, underpins our new 15-minute Click & Collect
promise and increases customer satisfaction metrics. 186 stores, or 82% of the
network, are now in our new format, with one store refitted in H1 2025 and a
further three refreshed.
Our new store opening programme is performing well and we expect our new
stores to deliver good economic returns, once mature. One new store opened
during H1 2025 in Leeds Moor Allerton, which is a former Homebase store.
During H1 2025 we closed one store (Muswell Hill Kitchen & Bathroom) and
ended the period with 228 stores. Since the period end we have opened new
Wickes stores in a further two former Homebase sites, in Bury St Edmunds and
Dunfermline.
Our property plans for the remainder of H2 2025 are on track. These include
the opening of another former Homebase store in Northampton. We are planning a
total of 10-15 refits/refreshes in the year and 5-7 new stores. We have an
exciting pipeline of new stores planned for the coming years, as we target an
overall estate of around 250 stores over the medium term.
5. Digital capability
We continue to invest in our digital capabilities to underpin enhanced
customer experience and productivity.
A number of the initiatives undertaken in recent years continue to drive
growth, such as the introduction of direct-to-diary booking by customers for
their appointment with a Design Consultant, which has greatly improved the
proportion of leads that continue through the sales funnel. Our proprietary
and market-leading machine learning model, the Mission Motivation Engine
(MME), delivers tailored content to customers to help them complete their home
improvement missions and this continues to drive incremental revenue. New
and improved functionality in our colleagues' handheld devices has enabled us
to achieve faster fulfilment times and thereby start offering a 15 minute
Click & Collect service, instead of 30 minutes, as well as launching the
Wickes Rapid service.
Our ongoing digital investments are also driving significant productivity
benefits, such as the AI-driven predictive stock forecasting platform, which
is delivering materially enhanced productivity whilst driving an enhanced
customer experience and lower costs. The platform has led to a significant
improvement in stock forecast accuracy with material financial benefits. We
have delivered a reduction in total stock units held, a c.70% reduction in
third party storage usage over two years and improved store availability
alongside the reduction in stock levels. For our Design & Installation
business, the FSM scheduling tool which we introduced last year has resulted
in an enhanced customer experience and reduced costs.
There are a number of projects which we are currently investing in to drive
future growth, such as our new design software. This will be rolled out to
all Wickes design consultants in time for the Winter Sale 2025/26 and will
transform the customer experience by unlocking new capabilities for faster,
more inspirational design visualisations. In H2 2026 we will transform our
till systems into a unified commerce platform for a seamless online/in-store
customer experience and for improved store inventory management. We will
implement an order management system to simplify our ordering and fulfilment
capabilities and improve customer order accuracy, in two phases launching in
H1 2026 and H2 2027.
6. Enhanced store service model
Our '4C' model aims to meet our customers' needs through all four of our store
network journeys: Self Serve, Assisted Selling, Order Fulfilment and the
Design & Installation showrooms. Our approach offers a seamless shopping
experience for customers and ensures that our store estate works hard for us.
Recent changes to the store estate have increased back of house capacity for
Click & Collect and Home Delivery Order Fulfilment, while reducing the
impact on customers in the store.
7. A winning culture
We are proud of the Wickes culture which over the past fifty years has evolved
to become a modern, inclusive workplace where all colleagues can feel at home
and have the opportunity to grow their skills and develop their careers. We
continue to engage with colleagues so that they are informed, inspired and
motivated to play their part in delivering our strategy through exceptional
levels of customer service.
We are proud that Wickes has been voted the number 1 UK retailer in the
Financial Times survey of Europe's Best Employers 2025 and was ranked #87 out
of 1,000 companies.
Responsible Business Strategy update
During H1 2025 we have continued to focus on integrating our Responsible
Business Strategy 'Built to Last' across our business and our supply chain,
with continued progress made across all three pillars of the strategy.
The wellbeing and safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number
one priority and is a key part of our Responsible Business Strategy. In H1
2025, we updated our Health and Safety Policy, which is available on our
website.
Our progress with ESG continues to be recognised and we have increased our
scores in a number of prominent ESG ratings including FTSE4Good.
1. People
Inclusion and diversity remain central to our people strategy through our
'Feel at Home' colleague-led inclusion and diversity programme. In H1 2025, we
rolled out active bystander training to over 1,000 line managers, providing
methods to help deal with incidents of racism, sexism and all other forms of
discrimination. We also achieved Level 2 Disability Confident Employer,
reflecting our ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where
everyone can thrive.
As we continue to support our colleagues to develop their careers with us, we
launched a new self-learning and development platform, which is available for
all colleagues across the business to access.
Through the Wickes Community programme, we have now supported over 1,200
projects in local communities across the country, taking us to over 50% of our
target for 2025. The Programme won Best Community Engagement Programme at the
CSR Awards.
Our two-year charity partnership with The Brain Tumour Charity completed in
April 2025, and we successfully reached our target of raising £2 million for
the charity, with the generosity of our customers, colleagues and suppliers.
The partnership was also recognised by winning the Best Short Term Partnership
award at the Third Sector Business Charity Awards. In May 2025 we launched a
new two-year partnership with CALM, the suicide prevention charity.
2. Environment
We received approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for our
updated near-term Science Based targets (SBTs). In H1 2025, we have continued
to develop and refine our Scope 1 and 2 decarbonisation plan. We remain on
track to meet our 2030 near-term target, having already transitioned to a 100%
renewable electricity contract, and we now have solar generation installed at
13 of our stores.
With over 95% of our GHG footprint related to the products we sell,
collaboration with our suppliers is critical to reducing our scope 3
emissions. To this end, we have continued to collaborate with our suppliers
directly and also with the wider home improvement retail industry through our
membership of the British Retail Consortium's Climate Action Roadmap and the
global trade body for home improvement retailers EDRA/GHIN's Make it Zero
initiative.
As we continue to improve our in-house carbon accounting capability, we
commenced our partnership with the GHG emissions software platform provider,
Sweep, in H1 2025. We have been implementing the platform to be able to
measure our full GHG inventory in-house, and we plan to ask our suppliers to
report their carbon emissions, in our pursuit to improve the accuracy of our
carbon accounting.
In recognition of the growing interest and concern about the financial-related
impact of nature loss, we have kicked off a high level study of the
nature-related risks and opportunities that could impact our direct operations
and supply chain, in line with the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial
Disclosures framework.
3. Homes
As Solar Fast continues to be integrated in our business, we now have Wickes
Solar point-of-sale assets in all stores and have trained 100 design
consultants to support customers with their solar projects in-store and in the
home. With a trusted brand and significant experience in design and
installation services at scale, Wickes Solar is well-placed to be a market
leader in home energy solutions, as noted above.
We have commenced a project to develop a robust methodology to quantify the
positive impact from the avoided GHG emissions that we have enabled through
helping our customers with their solar installation projects.
Financial review
In the first half of 2025 we have delivered strong volume-led growth momentum
across all areas of the business.
Revenue of £847.9m reflected 5.6% sales growth year on-year. Retail sales
were driven by an increase in volumes while pricing remained broadly stable.
The positive momentum within Design & Installation has continued.
Following the actions taken in H2 2024 to enhance our customer offer, we
achieved the first quarter of positive LFL delivered sales growth since Q2
2023.
Adjusted profit before tax increased to £27.3m (H1 2024: £23.4m) and
statutory profit before tax increased by 5.7% to £24.2m (H1 2024: £22.9m).
There was £158.0m of cash on balance sheet at the end of the period (H1 2024:
£152.4m), after £16.7m of dividends and £8.1m of share buybacks(20).
Revenue
Revenue for the 26 weeks to 28 June 2025 was £847.9m (H1 2024: £803.2m), an
increase of 5.6% on the prior year. LFL sales for the period were up 4.5%.
Retail revenue - sales from products sold to DIY customers and local trade
professionals - increased by 6.8% to £634.4m (H1 2024: £594.0m). Retail LFL
revenue increased by 6.4%, driven by positive volume growth.
Our TradePro business continues to perform strongly, with sales up 10%
year-on-year, as local trade professionals continue to choose Wickes to save
them time and money.
DIY sales were in mid-single digit growth, with volumes driven by increasing
customer transactions. Our performance in the first half reflects the strength
of the Wickes offer, with Q2 trading further assisted by the warm spring
weather and the timing of Easter.
Design & Installation delivered revenue(18) was £213.4 (H1 2024:
£209.2m), an increase of 2.1%. Following the actions taken in H2 2024 to
enhance our customer offer, we achieved a third consecutive quarter of ordered
sales growth(17) in Q2 2025 and the first quarter of positive LFL delivered
sales growth(18) since Q2 2023.
Gross profit
Adjusted gross profit for H1 2025 was £312.0m, a 7.9% increase compared to
the prior year (H1 2024: £289.2m). Adjusted gross margin increased by 79
basis points, as a result of volume growth, category mix and lower consumer
credit costs.
Compared to adjusted gross profit, the statutory measure has been affected by
net unrealised gains and losses on remeasurement of foreign exchange
derivatives held at fair value relating to economic hedges (H1 2025: £3.2m
loss, H1 2024: £(0.5)m gain).
Operating profit
Adjusted operating profit of £40.1m increased by 14.2% year on year (H1 2024:
£35.1m) due to revenue growth driving operational leverage, in addition to
our productivity programme having helped to mitigate cost inflation. The
adjusted operating profit margin increased to 4.7% (H1 2024: 4.4%).
Statutory operating profit increased by 6.0% to £37.0m (H1 2024: £34.9m).
Net finance costs
Net finance costs were £12.8m (H1 2024: £12.0m), principally comprising
finance costs relating to the IFRS 16 interest charge on leases, partially
offset by interest income earned on cash balances.
Adjusted profit before tax
Adjusted profit before tax was £27.3m (H1 2024: £23.4m), an increase of
16.7% year-on-year, reflecting the strong performance outlined above.
Adjusting items
Pre-tax adjusting item charges were £3.1m (H1 2024: £0.5m). These comprise
costs related to derivative fair value losses on foreign exchange contracts of
£3.2m (H1 2024: gain of £0.5m), offset by a restructuring provision release
of £0.1m.
Profit before tax
Profit before tax increased to £24.2m (H1 2024: £22.9m) reflecting the
factors noted above.
Tax
The tax charge for the period was £3.6m (H1 2024: £6.0m). The effective tax
rate (before adjusting items) for the period was 16.0% (H1 2024: 25.4%), which
differs from the UK corporation tax rate of 25% principally due to revising
estimates related to capital allowance claims on historic capital expenditure
and prior year adjustments.
Tax credit on adjusting items was £0.8m (H1 2024: tax charge of £0.1m).
Investment and capital expenditure
Capital expenditure was in line with our expectations at £9.5m (H1 2024:
£12.1m).
The largest component of capex was £8.4m investment in the store estate (H1
2024: £9.8m), of which refits and refreshes were £2.3m, new stores £3.5m
and other store capex across the estate £2.6m. There was £1.1m capex
investment in our digital capabilities (H1 2024: £2.3m), as we continue to
develop our multi-channel offer.
We expect capital expenditure for 2025 to be £30-35m, driven by a step-up in
investment in the store estate and further IT capital expenditure, as we
continue to enhance our operating systems and customer experience. In addition
we expect to invest c.£15m in SaaS IT projects, which will be expensed
through the income statement.
Cash / net debt
Cash at the end of the period was £158.0m (H1 2024: £152.4m), in line with
our expectations.
Operating profit increased year-on-year, resulting in cash flows from
operations of £94.3m (H1 2024: £89.5m). Cash inflows related to working
capital movements were £80.5m (H1 2024: £64.9m), reflecting a seasonal
benefit higher than in prior years due to strong trading. Cash outflows from
financing activities of £91.9m (H1 2024: £83.7m) include £55.9m (H1 2024:
£51.6m) related to lease liabilities, £16.7m dividend payments (H1 2024:
£20.0m), £11.9m of share purchases for the Employee Benefit Trust(21) (H1
2024: nil) and £8.1m of share buybacks(20) (H1 2024: £11.3m).
Inventories increased slightly to £198.5m (H1 2024: £195.1m), in line with
our expectations.
IFRS16 net debt increased to £561.4m (H1 2024: £548.6m), primarily
reflecting new and extended leases.
Dividend
The Board has recommended an interim dividend of 3.6p per share, which will be
paid on 7 November 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of
business on 3 October 2025.
The shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 2 October 2025. Shareholders in the
UK may elect to reinvest their dividend in the Dividend Reinvestment Plan
(DRIP). The last date for receipt of DRIP elections and revocations will be 17
October 2025.
Technical guidance
The following represents unchanged guidance for the full year 2025:
• Net interest costs of c. £25m
• Capex of £30-35m(22)
• 7.1m shares being purchased for Wickes Employee Benefit Trust
• Completion of the £20m share buyback programme
• Based on current expectations FY dividend expected to be maintained at 10.9p
Appendix
LFL sales growth Q1 Q2 HY
13 weeks to 13 weeks to 26 weeks to
29 March 28 June 28 June
Retail 4.4% 7.9% 6.4%
Design & Installation Ranges (5.6)% 3.5% (1.0)%
Group 1.6% 6.9% 4.5%
Risks and Uncertainties
Wickes has a formal risk management process to help the Group reinforce its
short, medium and long term success, safeguard value and enable it to meet and
exceed the expectations of stakeholders.
A detailed explanation of the risks and uncertainties which were identified
for 2024 can be found on pages 69 to 75 of the Annual Report and Accounts
2024. The principal risks and uncertainties comprise:
• Cyber and data security • Climate change
• Business change • People and safety
• Brand integrity and reputation • Commercial and supply chain
• Regulatory and legal compliance • Financial management
• IT operations • Customer experience
• Growth strategy • Stores, distribution and installations
The Board continues to review changes to risks and uncertainties that may
arise, remaining mindful of the external environment.
Footnotes
1) Retail revenue refers to all products and related delivery income sold to
customers (both DIY and local trade), in stores or online, excluding those
reported as Design & Installation Ranges.
2) Design & Installation revenue includes all product categories which
could be sold as part of a design and/or installation and where the majority
of sales of those products are designed and/or installed. This relates
principally to projects such as kitchens, bathrooms and solar, sold by our
Design Consultants. Revenue is recognised when delivery and installation
(where applicable) is complete. Design & Installation includes Solar Fast
from 21 May 2024 onwards.
3) For a definition of like-for-like ('LFL') sales, see note 3 of the
financial statements.
4) See note 2 of the financial statements and both the Reconciliation of
Alternative Performance Measures note and the Alternative Performance Measures
note for a detailed explanation of these items.
5) Active members of the TradePro scheme are defined as those who have shopped
with us in the last 12 months.
6) Source: GfK GB point of sale data, sourced from GfK DIY Category Reporting
June 2025.
7) These are the costs incurred which relate to 'software as a service'
solutions that are immediately expensed under the Group's accounting policy
and do not result in an intangible asset.
8) Consensus adjusted PBT for FY 2025 is £48.2m as at 1 September 2025, with
a range of £46.8m to £51.5m.
9) Source: GfK, Mintel and Wickes estimates.
10) Source: Mintel UK DIY Retailing report, June 2025.
11) HM Revenue & Customs monthly property transactions completed in the UK
with a value of £40,000 or above, June 2025.
12) GfK Consumer Confidence Index, August 2025.
13) Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, Household Energy
Efficiency, 28 March 2024.
14) Decarbonising Buildings: Insights from Across Europe, published by the
Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College
London, December 2022.
15) ONS Energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales 2024.
16) Source: Metapack Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report, Retail Economics in
partnership with Auctane, February 2025.
17) Ordered sales refers to the value of orders at the point when the order
has been agreed.
18) Delivered sales refers to the revenue which is recognised when the Group
has satisfied its performance obligation to the customer and the customer has
obtained control of the goods or services being transferred.
19) Source: Wood Mackenzie UK PV Capacity Forecast.
20) Before stamp duty and commission.
21) Before stamp duty, commission and cash received from employees.
22) Excludes impact of expensed SaaS IT investment costs. These are the costs
incurred which relate to 'software as a service' solutions that are
immediately expensed under the Group's accounting policies and do not result
in an intangible asset.
Condensed consolidated income statement and statement of comprehensive income
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December 2024
£m 2025 2024
Revenue* (note 3) 847.9 803.2 1,544.5
Cost of sales* (539.1) (513.5) (977.9)
Gross profit 308.8 289.7 566.6
Selling costs (178.4) (174.8) (364.9)
Administrative expenses (93.4) (80.0) (154.4)
Operating profit 37.0 34.9 47.3
Net finance costs (note 4) (12.8) (12.0) (24.1)
Profit before tax 24.2 22.9 23.2
Tax (note 5) (3.6) (6.0) (4.8)
Profit for the period and total comprehensive income 20.6 16.9 18.4
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent 20.9 16.8 18.1
Non-controlling interest (0.3) 0.1 0.3
Profit for the period and total comprehensive income 20.6 16.9 18.4
* Comparative information in respect of revenue and cost of sales has been
amended for delivery income. For details of the re-presentation, see note 3.
Earnings per share (note 8)
Basic 9.0p 6.9p 7.7p
Diluted 8.8p 6.8p 7.5p
Total dividend declared per share (note 9) 3.6p 3.6p 10.9p
Adjusted results (note 2 unless stated otherwise)
Adjusted gross profit 312.0 289.2 565.1
Adjusted operating profit 40.1 35.1 67.4
Adjusted profit before tax 27.3 23.4 43.6
Adjusted profit after tax 22.9 17.5 33.9
Adjusted basic earnings per share (note 8) 10.0p 7.1p 14.1p
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (note 8) 9.8p 7.1p 13.9p
Condensed consolidated balance sheet
As at As at As at
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Goodwill 12.6 12.6 12.6
Other intangible assets 7.9 13.7 10.0
Property, plant and equipment 110.7 122.5 113.3
Right-of-use assets 577.7 560.5 562.5
Derivative financial instruments - - 0.2
Deferred tax asset 27.1 23.9 29.8
Total non-current assets 736.0 733.2 728.4
Current assets
Inventories 198.5 195.1 192.9
Trade and other receivables (note 6) 87.7 78.4 70.6
Derivative financial instruments - - 0.7
Cash and cash equivalents 158.0 152.4 86.3
Total current assets 444.2 425.9 350.5
Total assets 1,180.2 1,159.1 1,078.9
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Capital and reserves
Issued share capital (note 7) 23.8 24.5 24.2
Capital redemption reserve 2.2 1.5 1.8
EBT share reserve (note 7) (12.1) (0.5) (0.5)
Other reserves (785.7) (785.7) (785.7)
Retained earnings 902.1 913.6 905.5
Equity attributable to owners of the parent 130.3 153.4 145.3
Non-controlling interest 0.9 0.9 1.1
Total equity 131.2 154.3 146.4
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities (note 11) 640.2 615.0 624.9
Derivative financial instruments 0.3 - -
Long-term provisions 1.4 1.8 1.4
Total non-current liabilities 641.9 616.8 626.3
Current liabilities
Lease liabilities (note 11) 79.2 86.0 80.4
Derivative financial instruments 2.1 0.2 -
Trade and other payables 316.1 287.2 212.6
Corporation tax 0.3 3.7 3.5
Short-term provisions 9.4 10.9 9.7
Total current liabilities 407.1 388.0 306.2
Total liabilities 1,049.0 1,004.8 932.5
Total equity and liabilities 1,180.2 1,159.1 1,078.9
The interim condensed financial statements of Wickes Group plc, registered
number 12189061 were approved by the Board of Directors on 9 September 2025
and signed on its behalf by:
David Wood Mark George
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity
Issued share capital Capital redemption reserve Employee benefit trust share reserve Other reserves Retained earnings Total equity
£m
At 28 December 2024 24.2 1.8 (0.5) (785.7) 905.5 145.3
Total comprehensive income for the period - - - - 20.9 20.9
Dividends paid (note 9) - - - - (16.7) (16.7)
Share buyback and cancellation (0.4) 0.4 - - (8.2) (8.2)
Own shares purchased for share schemes - - (11.9) - - (11.9)
Equity-settled share-based payments - - 0.3 - 1.7 2.0
Tax on equity-settled share-based payments - - - - (1.1) (1.1)
Owners of the parent 23.8 2.2 (12.1) (785.7) 902.1 130.3
Retained Earnings attributable to non-controlling - - - - 0.9 0.9
interest
At 28 June 2025 23.8 2.2 (12.1) (785.7) 903.0 131.2
Issued share Capital redemption Employee benefit trust share reserve Other reserves Retained earnings Total equity
capital reserve
£m
At 30 December 2023 25.2 0.8 (0.7) (785.7) 923.7 163.3
Total comprehensive income for the period - - - - 16.9 16.9
Dividends paid (note 9) - - - - (17.6) (17.6)
Share buyback and cancellation (0.7) 0.7 - - (11.3) (11.3)
Equity-settled share-based payments - - 0.2 - 1.9 2.1
Owners of the parent 24.5 1.5 (0.5) (785.7) 913.6 153.4
Retained Earnings attributable to non-controlling - - - - 0.9 0.9
interest
At 29 June 2024 24.5 1.5 (0.5) (785.7) 914.5 154.3
Issued share capital Capital redemption Employee benefit trust share reserve Other reserves Retained earnings Total equity
reserve
£m
At 30 December 2023 25.2 0.8 (0.7) (785.7) 923.7 163.3
Total comprehensive income for the period - - - - 18.1 18.1
Dividends paid (note 9) - - - - (26.1) (26.1)
Share buyback and cancellation (1.0) 1.0 - - (15.1) (15.1)
Equity-settled share-based payments - - 0.2 - 3.4 3.6
Tax on equity-settled share-based payments - - - - 1.5 1.5
Owners of the parent 24.2 1.8 (0.5) (785.7) 905.5 145.3
Retained Earnings attributable to non-controlling - - - - 1.1 1.1
interest
At 28 December 2024 24.2 1.8 (0.5) (785.7) 906.6 146.4
Condensed consolidated cash flow statement
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2024 2024
2025
Cash flows from operating activities
Operating profit 37.0 34.9 47.3
Adjustments for:
Amortisation of other intangible assets 3.2 3.1 6.6
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 10.8 11.0 22.3
Depreciation of right-of-use 37.9 38.5 76.7
assets
Impairment of property, plant and - - 5.8
equipment
Impairment of right-of-use assets - - 12.3
Reversal of impairment of right-of-use assets - - (1.3)
Losses on disposal of property, plant and equipment 0.3 0.4 0.3
Derivative fair value losses/(gains) 3.2 (0.5) (1.5)
Share-based payments 1.9 2.1 3.5
Operating cash flows 94.3 89.5 172.0
Movements in working capital
(Increase)/decrease in inventories (5.6) 1.1 3.2
(Increase)/decrease in receivables (17.1) (3.7) 4.0
Increase/(decrease) in payables 103.5 67.4 (7.1)
(Decrease)/increase in provisions (0.3) 0.1 (1.5)
Cash generated from operations 174.8 154.4 170.6
Income taxes paid (5.2) (5.1) (8.6)
Net cash inflow from operating activities 169.6 149.3 162.0
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (8.5) (10.4) (24.6)
Development of computer software (1.0) (1.7) (1.5)
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment - - 6.3
Acquisition of business net of cash acquired - (2.3) (2.3)
Interest received 3.5 3.7 7.4
Net cash outflow from investing activities (6.0) (10.7) (14.7)
Cash flows from financing activities
Interest paid (0.4) (0.8) (1.4)
Interest on lease liabilities (15.8) (14.9) (30.1)
Payment of principal of lease liabilities (40.1) (36.7) (84.3)
Lease incentives received 1.0 - 0.9
Own shares purchased for share schemes, net of cash received from employees (11.7) - -
Share buyback (8.2) (11.3) (15.1)
Dividends paid to equity holders of the parent (note 9) (16.7) (17.6) (26.1)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interest - (2.4) (2.4)
Net cash outflow from financing activities (91.9) (83.7) (158.5)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 71.7 54.9 (11.2)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 86.3 97.5 97.5
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 158.0 152.4 86.3
Notes to the interim financial statements
1 General information and accounting policies
The interim financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost
basis, except that derivative financial instruments, available for sale
investments, contingent consideration and intangible assets arising from
business combinations are stated at their fair value. The condensed interim
financial statements include the accounts of the Company and all its
subsidiaries ("the Group").
Basis of preparation
The financial information for the 26 week periods ended 28 June 2025 and 29
June 2024 is unaudited. The 28 June 2025 information has been reviewed by KPMG
LLP, the Group's auditor, and a copy of their review report appears on page 26
of this interim report.
The comparative figures for the 52 week period ended 28 December 2024 do not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 435 of the Companies Act
2006. A copy of the statutory accounts for the 52 week period ended 28
December 2024, as prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international
accounting standards, has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The
auditor's report on those accounts was not qualified, did not include a
reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of
emphasis without qualifying the report and did not contain statements under
section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
This condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance
with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted for use in the UK.
The annual financial statements of the Group are prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted international accounting standards. As required by the Disclosure
Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, the
condensed set of financial statements has been prepared applying the
accounting policies and presentation that were applied in the preparation of
the Company's published consolidated financial statements for the 52 week
period ended 28 December 2024, with the exception of the presentation of
delivery income within revenue (see note 3) and the allocation of revenue
between Retail and Design & Installation Ranges (see note 3).
Going concern
Based on the Group's liquidity position and cash flow projections, including a
forward looking severe but plausible scenario, the Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue
in operational existence for the duration of the going concern period, being
the 12 month period following the date of approval of these interim financial
statements, and accordingly they continue to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting in preparing the consolidated financial statements, for the period
ended 28 June 2025.
The Group continues to be profitable and remains cash generative. At 28 June
2025, cash and cash equivalents stood at £158.0m. In addition, the Group had
available an undrawn committed Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) of £80m which
expires in March 2029, and which is not forecast to be utilised for a period
of at least 12 months following the date of approval of these interim
financial statements.
Lease liabilities of £719.4m are included on the balance sheet under IFRS 16,
with £79.2m due within one year. The Group has no other debt obligations.
In considering whether the Group's financial statements can be prepared on a
going concern basis, the Directors have undertaken a detailed review which
entails assessing the Group's current and projected financial performance and
position, including current assets and liabilities, debt maturity profile,
future commitments and forecast cash flows. In forming their outlook on the
future financial performance, the Directors considered the risk of higher
business volatility arising from the potential negative impact of the general
economic environment.
The Directors' review also included a severe but plausible scenario to assess
the impact of a sales reduction from 2025's expected outturn, a margin
reduction and, for the first time, an operational shock which requires the
business to shut down fully for a short period of time, together with
increases to energy costs and staff costs.
Under this combined severe but plausible scenario the Group would encounter a
marginal negative cash position in one period. However, if this scenario
materialised, the Group could apply a controlled and limited set of
mitigations to preserve a positive cash balance, and these do not assume
utilisation of the RCF. The severe but plausible scenario would result in a
covenant breach, but as it does not require use of the facility at any point,
this does not indicate a risk to going concern. Nevertheless, if required,
there are further measures that could be taken to assist with covenant
compliance if this was considered necessary, including reducing bonuses and
discretionary spend in the short term.
The Directors remain watchful of ongoing pressures on customers and suppliers
given the current economic environment, and are aware that the Group is
exposed to a number of risks and uncertainties, which could affect the Group's
ability to meet its forecasts. The Directors believe that the Group has the
flexibility to react to changing market conditions and is adequately placed to
manage its business risks successfully.
New and amended standards adopted by the Group
The following standards and interpretations, which have not yet been applied
in these condensed financial statements, have been issued by the IASB but not
yet adopted by the UK Endorsement Board:
- Targeted amendments to IFRS 9 - Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 - Financial
Instruments: Disclosures, for Contracts Referencing Nature-dependent
Electricity
- IFRS 18 - Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements
- IFRS 19 - Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures
The following standards have been adopted by the UK Endorsement Board but are
not yet effective for the Group:
- Amendments to IFRS 9 - Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 - Financial
Instruments: Disclosures for classification and measurement of financial
instruments
- Amendments to IAS 21 - Lack of Exchangeability
Adoption of these standards in future periods is not expected to have a
material impact on the financial statements.
2 Reconciliation of alternative profit measures
Adjusted profit measures are an alternative performance measure used by the
Board to monitor the operating performance of the Group. Adjusting items are
those items of income and expenditure that, by reference to the Group, are
material in size or unusual in nature or incidence and that in the judgement
of the Directors should be disclosed separately to ensure both that the reader
has a proper understanding of the Group's financial performance and that there
is comparability of financial performance between periods.
Items of income or expense that are considered by the Directors for
designation as adjusting items include, but are not limited to, significant
restructurings, incremental costs relating to corporate transactions,
significant write downs or impairments (or impairment reversals) of current
and non-current assets, the effect of changes in corporation tax rates on
deferred tax balances and net unrealised gains and losses on remeasurement of
foreign exchange derivatives held at fair value.
26 weeks ended 28 June 2025
(£m)
Gross profit Operating Profit before Profit after tax
profit tax
Statutory performance measures 308.8 37.0 24.2 20.6
Derivative fair value losses 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2
Restructuring cost reversal - (0.1) (0.1) (0.1)
Tax on adjusting items - - - (0.8)
Total adjustments to statutory performance measures 3.2 3.1 3.1 2.3
Adjusted performance measures 312.0 40.1 27.3 22.9
26 weeks ended 29 June 2024
(£m)
Gross profit Operating Profit before Profit after tax
profit tax
Statutory performance measures 289.7 34.9 22.9 16.9
Derivative fair value gains (0.5) (0.5) (0.5) (0.5)
Solar Fast acquisition costs - 0.7 0.7 0.7
Revolving credit facility (RCF) amendment - - 0.3 0.3
costs
Tax on adjusting items - - - 0.1
Total adjustments to statutory performance measures (0.5) 0.2 0.5 0.6
Adjusted performance measures 289.2 35.1 23.4 17.5
52 weeks ended 28 December 2024
(£m)
Gross profit Operating Profit before Profit after tax
profit tax
Statutory performance measures 566.6 47.3 23.2 18.4
Derivative fair value gains (1.5) (1.5) (1.5) (1.5)
Property, plant and equipment impairment - 5.8 5.8 5.8
charge
Right-of-use asset impairment charge
Reversal of impairment of right-of-use asset recognised in prior periods
Restructuring costs
Solar Fast acquisition costs
Revolving credit facility (RCF) amendment costs
Tax on adjusting items
- 12.3 12.3 12.3
- (1.3) (1.3) (1.3)
- 4.0 4.0 4.0
- 0.8 0.8 0.8
- - 0.3 0.3
- - - (4.9)
Total adjustments to statutory performance measure (1.5) 20.1 20.4 15.5
Adjusted performance measures 565.1 67.4 43.6 33.9
Derivative fair value movements
The Group recognises the potential for high levels of foreign exchange rate
volatility and looks to mitigate its economic impact on financial performance
by hedging planned future foreign currency purchases using foreign currency
derivatives. The Group does not take advantage of the hedge accounting rules
provided for in IFRS 9 since that standard requires certain stringent criteria
to be met to hedge account, which, in the circumstances of the Group, are
considered by the Board not to bring any significant economic benefit. As a
result, IFRS requires that fair value gains or losses on these derivatives be
recognised in the Income Statement.
In order to reflect the economic outcome of the forward contracts
(derivatives), the impact of fair value movement on the derivatives has been
removed in the underlying results. During the 26 weeks ended 28 June 2025 this
adjustment was a net loss of £3.2m (26 weeks ended 29 June 2024: net gain of
£0.5m; 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024: net gain of £1.5m).
Restructuring costs
In the 26 week period ended 28 June 2025, there was a £0.1m release of a
provision that was recognised in relation to restructuring programmes in the
period ended 28 December 2024. The incremental costs associated with various
restructuring programmes the Group undertook across the business, to improve
both operational efficiency and also its customer proposition, totalled £4.0m
in the 52 week period ended 28 December 2024. Given the size and infrequent
occurrences of such restructuring programmes by the Group, restructuring costs
are recognised within adjusting items, with any subsequent reversals also
going through adjusting items.
Solar Fast acquisition costs
In the 26 week period ended 29 June 2024, the Group acquired a 51% controlling
interest in Gas Fast Limited. As part of the acquisition, incremental fees
directly associated with the acquisition were incurred by the Group. These
were predominantly related to professional services and considered to be
one-off in nature.
Revolving credit facility (RCF) amendment costs
The Group incurred fees related to the completion of its "Amend and Extend" of
its Revolving Credit Facility during the 52 week period ended 28 December
2024, lengthening the term by a further two years to March 2028, with an
option of an additional one year extension. The Group does not consider
corporate transactions such as this to be required on a regular basis and thus
classified the fees as adjusting in the comparative period.
Right-of-use asset and property, plant and equipment impairment charges and
reversals
In the 26 week period ended 28 June 2025, no impairment charge (26 week period
ended 29 June 2024: nil) has been recognised within adjusting items. In the 52
week period ended 28 December 2024, 27 stores were identified as impaired with
a resulting impairment charge of £18.1m, £12.3m to right of use assets and
£5.8m to property plant and equipment. Furthermore, 1 store was identified as
having an impairment reversal of £1.3m all to right of use assets. Given the
size of the gross store impairment charge and reversal, this impairment charge
was included within adjusting items in the comparative period.
3 Revenue
The Group has one operating segment in accordance with IFRS 8 'Operating
Segments', which is the retail of home improvement products and services, both
in stores and online. The Chief Operating Decision Maker is the Executive
Board of Directors. Internal management reports are reviewed by them on a
regular basis. Performance of the segment is assessed based on a number of
financial and non-financial KPIs as well as on profit before taxation.
The Group identifies two distinct revenue streams within its operating segment
which are analysed below. Both revenue streams operate entirely in the United
Kingdom. The Group's revenue is driven by a large number of individual small
value transactions and as a result, Group revenue is not reliant on a major
customer or group of customers.
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Retail 634.4 594.0 1,135.2
Design and Installation Ranges 213.4 209.2 409.3
847.9 803.2 1,544.5
Due to rounding to the nearest £0.1m, the aggregate of the two revenue
streams does not equal the total presented.
Re-presentation of delivery income in comparative figures
The Directors have reviewed their presentation of revenue arising from
delivery charges and have now disclosed delivery income within Revenue, which
was previously recognised net within Cost of Sales. For the 26 weeks ended 29
June 2024, £3.3m of delivery income has been re-presented from Cost of Sales
to Revenue, of which £3.1m has been allocated to Retail and £0.2m to Design
& Installation Ranges. For the 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024, £5.7m has
been re-presented from Cost of Sales to Revenue, of which £5.4m has been
allocated to Retail and £0.3m to Design & Installation Ranges.
The revenue reconciliation and like-for-like sales disclosed below have also
been re-presented. This has resulted in the 'decrease arising on a
like-for-like basis' reducing from £32.3m (3.9%) to £32.0m (3.9%) for the 26
weeks ended 29 June 2024 and £31.3m (2.0%) to £31.0m (2.0%) for the 52 weeks
ended 28 December 2024.
There are no impacts to any profit measures, balance sheet or cash flows for
any of the periods reported as a result of the re-presentation.
Re-presentation of revenue streams in comparative figures
In the 52 week period ended 28 December 2024, sales of Wickes Lifestyle
Kitchens which included a design element were classified as Design &
Installation revenue, whereas self-serve purchases of the Wickes Lifestyle
Kitchen range were classified as Retail revenue. From the start of FY 2025,
the Group has changed the presentation of the two revenue streams currently
within its operating segment from 'Retail' and 'Design & Installation', to
'Retail' and 'Design & Installation Ranges' respectively.
For the 26 weeks ended 29 June 2024, £42.3m of revenue has been re-allocated
from Retail to Design & Installation Ranges. For the 52 weeks ended 28
December 2024, £82.5m of revenue has been re-allocated from Retail to Design
& Installation Ranges. This aligns the presentation with how revenue
streams are monitored internally, bringing all kitchen and bathroom sales into
one reported revenue category, Design & Installation Ranges. Solar sales
continue to be included in Design & Installation Ranges.
There is no impact on any of the profit measures, balance sheet or cash flow
statement for any of the periods reported.
Revenue reconciliation and like-for-like sales
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 29 June 52 weeks ended
28 June 2024 28 December
£m 2025 2024
Revenue 847.9 803.2 1,544.5
Network change (9.5) (10.6) (21.4)
Revenue generated by acquired business (Gas Fast Limited) (5.4) (1.5) (10.0)
Revenue (like-for-like basis) 833.0 791.1 1,513.1
Prior period revenue 803.2 830.7 1,559.2
Prior period network change (5.5) (7.6) (15.1)
Revenue generated by acquired business (Gas Fast Limited) (0.4) - -
Prior period revenue (like-for-like basis) 797.3 823.1 1,544.1
Increase/(decrease) arising on a like-for-like basis 35.7 (32.0) (31.0)
Like-for-like Sales Growth (%) 4.5% (3.9)% (2.0)%
Calculating like-for-like revenue enables management to monitor the
performance trend of the underlying business period-on-period. It also gives
management a good indication of the health of the business compared to
competitors.
Like-for-like sales are a measure of underlying sales performance for two
successive periods. Branches and stores contribute to like-for-like sales once
they have been trading for more than 12 months, or for acquisitions once the
results have been fully consolidated for 12 months. Revenue included in
like-for-like sales is for the equivalent times in both periods being
compared. When branches close revenue is excluded from the prior period
figures for the months equivalent to the post closure period in the current
period. These movements are explained by the Network change amounts. The
Network change number varies year on year as it represents a different number
of stores.
4 Finance costs
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Finance income
Interest receivable 3.5 3.7 7.3
3.5 3.7 7.3
Finance costs
Interest on lease liabilities (15.8) (14.9) (30.1)
Amortisation of loan arrangement fees (0.1) (0.2) (0.3)
Commitment fee on revolving credit facility (RCF) (0.3) (0.3) (0.7)
Revolving credit facility (RCF) amendment costs - (0.3) (0.3)
Other interest (0.1) - -
(16.3) (15.7) (31.4)
Net finance costs (12.8) (12.0) (24.1)
5 Tax
Income tax expense is recognised based on management's best estimate of the
weighted average annual income tax rate expected for the full financial year,
applied to the pre-tax income of the interim period. The taxation charge on
profit for the financial period was £3.6m (26 weeks ended 29 June 2024:
£6.0m, 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024: £4.8m), including a £0.8m credit
(26 weeks ended 29 June 2024: £0.1m debit, 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024:
£4.9m credit) in respect of adjusting items. The effective tax rate of 14.8%
(26 weeks ended 29 June 2024: 25.4%, 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024: 20.3%)
differs from the UK corporation tax rate (25%) principally due to revising
estimates related to capital allowance claims on historic capital expenditure
and prior year adjustments.
6 Trade and other receivables
As at As at As at
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Trade receivables 49.9 45.6 31.1
Allowance for expected credit losses (1.1) (0.8) (0.9)
48.8 44.8 30.2
Other receivables 25.9 19.8 25.1
Prepayments and accrued income 13.0 13.8 15.3
87.7 78.4 70.6
Trade receivables primarily represent amounts receivable following the
delivery of goods purchased through finance agreements or the completion of a
Design & Installation Ranges project installation and electronic payment
transactions with customers that were not received into the bank at the year
end. Cash received from third parties providing finance to the Group's
customers is recognised in the Cash Flow Statement as an operating cash flow.
A provision for expected credit losses has been recognised at the reporting
date through consideration of the ageing profile and the risk of non-recovery.
The carrying amount of trade receivables, net of expected credit losses, is
considered to be an approximation to its fair value.
Trade receivables on financed sales are ordinarily settled by financing
providers; the Group does not retain consumer credit risk in respect of these
sales. In a small number of cases, despite the Group having fulfilled its
obligations under the installation contract, there may be a technical delay in
receiving final settlement from the finance partner. The Group assesses
whether these delays may result in amounts ultimately not being received and
establishes a credit loss accordingly. Credit risk on credit card transactions
is retained by the card issuer.
Other receivables primarily represent amounts due from suppliers to the Group
for rebates of £22.2m (as at 29 June 2024: £16.3m, as at 28 December 2024:
£23.7m).
7 Share capital
10 pence ordinary shares
Allotted No. £m
Authorised, issued and fully paid
At 30 December 2023 252,125,375 25.2
Shares cancelled (7,546,896) (0.7)
At 29 June 2024 244,578,479 24.5
Shares cancelled (2,512,180) (0.3)
At 28 December 2024 242,066,299 24.2
Shares cancelled (0.4)
(3,993,901)
At 28 June 2025 238,072,398 23.8
During the 26 weeks ended 28 June 2025, 4.0m shares (26 weeks ended 29 June
2024: 7.5m shares, 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024: 10.1m shares) were
purchased and then cancelled by the Group as part of the share buyback
programme. The total consideration of the 26 weeks ended 28 June 2025 of
£8.2m (26 weeks ended 29 June 2024: £11.3m, 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024:
£15.1m) was recognised as a charge in retained earnings.
The aggregate nominal value of shares cancelled and transferred to the capital
redemption reserve was £0.4m (26 weeks ended 29 June 2024: £0.7m, 52 weeks
ended 28 December 2024: £1.0m).
10 pence ordinary shares
The Group and Company Shares £m
EBT share reserves
At 30 December 2023 5,918,098 0.7
Shares released to participants (939,101) (0.2)
At 29 June 2024 4,978,997 0.5
Shares released to participants (200,247) -
At 28 December 2024 4,778,750 0.5
Own shares purchased for share schemes 7,100,000 11.9
Shares released to participants (1,601,755) (0.3)
At 28 June 2025 10,276,995 12.1
8 Earnings per share
a) Basic and diluted earnings per share
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Profit attributable to the owners of the parent 20.9 16.8 18.1
No.
Weighted average number of shares in issue 232,560,588 243,675,493 240,760,464
Dilutive effect of share options 4,736,311 2,568,148 3,714,321
Weighted average number of shares for diluted earnings per share 237,296,899 246,243,641 244,474,785
Basic earnings per share 9.0p 6.9p 7.7p
Diluted earnings per share 8.8p 6.8p 7.5p
b) Adjusted earnings per share
Adjusted earnings per share are calculated by excluding the effects of the
adjusting items from earnings.
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Profit attributable to the owners of the parent from continuing operations 20.9 16.8 18.1
Adjusting items before tax 3.1 0.5 20.4
Tax on adjusting items (0.8) 0.1 (4.9)
Adjusting items after tax (note 2) 2.3 0.6 15.5
Earnings for adjusted earnings per share 23.2 17.4 33.6
Adjusted basic earnings per share 10.0p 7.1p 14.1p
Adjusted diluted earnings per share 9.8p 7.1p 13.9p
9 Dividends
The following amounts were recognised in the financial statements as
distributions to equity shareholders of Wickes Group Plc in the following
periods:
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Interim dividend for the 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024 of 3.6 pence (30 - - 8.5
December 2023: 3.6 pence)
Final dividend for the 52 weeks ended 28 December 2024 of 7.3 pence (30 16.7 17.6 17.6
December 2023: 7.3 pence)
An interim dividend of 3.6p is proposed in respect of the 52 weeks ending 27
December 2025. It will be paid on 7 November 2025 to shareholders on the
register at the close of business on 3 October 2025 (the Record Date). The
shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 2 October 2025.
Shareholders may elect to reinvest their dividend in the Dividend Reinvestment
Plan (DRIP). The last date for receipt of DRIP elections and revocations will
be 17 October 2025.
10 Borrowings
At the period end, the Group had the following borrowing facilities available:
As at As at As at
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Undrawn facilities:
4-year committed revolving credit facility 80.0 80.0 80.0
80.0 80.0 80.0
During the 26 week period ended 28 June 2025, the Group completed an extension
of its Rolling Credit Facility, lengthening the term by a further year to
March 2029. Total commitments on the facility are £80m, with a further £20m
optional accordion facility.
The Group does not have an overdraft facility as at 28 June 2025 (29 June 2024
and 28 December 2024: no facility)
11 Movement in lease liability net debt
26 weeks ended 26 weeks ended 52 weeks ended
28 June 29 June 28 December
£m 2025 2024 2024
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period 86.3 97.5 97.5
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 71.7 54.9 (11.2)
Cash and cash equivalents at period end 158.0 152.4 86.3
Debt at beginning of the period (705.3) (675.8) (675.8)
Cash flows from repayment of lease liabilities 55.9 51.6 114.4
Discount unwind on lease liability (15.8) (14.9) (30.1)
Lease additions (7.2) (26.8) (60.7)
Lease modifications (46.0) (35.1) (53.0)
Lease incentives received (1.0) - (0.9)
Lease terminations - - 0.8
Debt at period end (719.4) (701.0) (705.3)
Net debt at beginning of the period (619.0) (578.3) (578.3)
Net debt at period end (561.4) (548.6) (619.0)
Balances
£m
Cash and cash equivalents 158.0 152.4 86.3
Current lease liabilities (79.2) (86.0) (80.4)
Non-current lease liabilities (640.2) (615.0) (624.9)
Net debt (561.4) (548.6) (619.0)
12 Related party transactions
The Group has a related party relationship with its subsidiaries and with its
Directors. There have been no related party transactions with Directors other
than in respect of remuneration.
13 Subsequent Events
No material adjusting or non-adjusting events have occurred between the
reporting date and the date of authorisation for issue that would require a
separate note disclosure in these financial statements.
RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:
The condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with
IAS 34 - Interim Financial Reporting, as adopted for use in the UK;
The Interim Management Report includes a fair review of the information
required by:
(a) DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being an indication
of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the
financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements;
and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining
six months of the year; and
(b) DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being related party
transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the current
financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or
performance of the entity during that period; and any changes in the related
party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.
By order of the Board
David Wood Mark George
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
9 September 2025 9 September 2025
INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO WICKES GROUP PLC
Conclusion
We have been engaged by Wickes Group Plc ("the Company") to review the
condensed set of financial statements in the Interim Results 2025 for the 26
weeks ended 28 June 2025 which comprises the Condensed consolidated income
statement and statement of comprehensive income, the Condensed consolidated
balance sheet, the Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity, the
Condensed consolidated cash flow statement, and the related explanatory notes.
Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to
believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the Interim Results
2025 for the 26 weeks ended 28 June 2025 is not prepared, in all material
respects, in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted for
use in the UK and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ("the DTR")
of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("the UK FCA").
Basis for conclusion
We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review
Engagements (UK) 2410 Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the
Independent Auditor of the Entity ("ISRE (UK) 2410") issued for use in the UK.
A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries,
primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and
applying analytical and other review procedures. We read the other information
contained in the half-yearly financial report and consider whether it contains
any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in
the condensed set of financial statements.
A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance
with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable
us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters
that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit
opinion.
Conclusions relating to going concern
Based on our review procedures, which are less extensive than those performed
in an audit as described in the Basis for conclusion section of this report,
nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the directors
have inappropriately adopted the going concern basis of accounting, or that
the directors have identified material uncertainties relating to going concern
that have not been appropriately disclosed.
This conclusion is based on the review procedures performed in accordance with
ISRE (UK) 2410. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group to
cease to continue as a going concern, and the above conclusions are not a
guarantee that the Group will continue in operation.
Directors' responsibilities
The Interim Results 2025 is the responsibility of, and has been approved by,
the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the Interim Results
2025 in accordance with the DTR of the UK FCA. As disclosed in note 1, the
annual financial statements of the Group are prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted international accounting standards. The directors are responsible
for preparing the condensed set of financial statements included in the
Interim Results 2025 financial report in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted for
use in the UK.
In preparing the condensed set of financial statements, the directors are
responsible for assessing the Group's ability to continue as a going concern,
disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the
going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to
liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative
but to do so.
Our responsibility
Our responsibility is to express to the Company a conclusion on the condensed
set of financial statements in the Interim Results 2025 based on our review.
Our conclusion, including our conclusions relating to going concern, are based
on procedures that are less extensive than audit procedures, as described in
the Basis for conclusion section of this report.
The purpose of our review work and to whom we owe our responsibilities
This report is made solely to the Company in accordance with the terms of our
engagement to assist the Company in meeting the requirements of the DTR of the
UK FCA. Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the Company
those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other
purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume
responsibility to anyone other than the Company for our review work, for this
report, or for the conclusions we have reached.
Heidi Broom-Hirst
For and on behalf of KPMG LLP
Chartered Accountants
15 Canada Square
London
E14 5GL
9 September 2025
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