Family-owned business Leekes Retail & Leisure Group, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, has announced strong profitability across all divisions in the last financial year.
The group reported EBITDA of £9.2m and a profit before tax and exceptional items of £6.5m for the year ended 31st March. This strong profitability enabled the group to both commit to £5m of capital expenditure in the financial year and reduce its net bank debt by over £6m.
In the year, Leekes Retail increased its turnover by +29%, posting gross sales of over £65m and delivering strong growth across its furniture, kitchens and bathrooms and accessories categories. This turnover growth, along with operational efficiencies, resulted in an EBITDA improvement of £1.4m to £5.5m and a profit before tax and exceptional items uplift of £1.5m to £4m.
The retail division invested £1.8m in new capital expenditure, with significant additional spend earmarked for this financial year with the substantial refurbishment of its flagship store in Llantrisant, South Wales, under way, as well as the roll out of solar panel installations across its estate.
Emma Leeke, MD of Leekes Retail, says: “Our retail business has continued to evolve to meet the challenges of recent years. This has only been possible with the support of our outstanding team who have embraced these changes and demonstrated incredible flexibility with the industry-leading results we have delivered being a testament to their commitment.”
Mike Fowler, group finance director, adds: “Our extremely solid foundations, the expertise we have across all our divisions along with the valued support of our banking partners, enabled us to deliver strong profitability across the group, which will ensure we can continue our plans to expand and diversify as well as invest in our existing operations. While the year ahead brings some uncertainty, we feel well equipped to continue to evolve our businesses to deal with the challenges ahead. ”
