Leekes Retail & Leisure Group has achieved another strong set of results for the year to 31st March 2015, with its chairman, Gerald Leeke, forecasting continued growth in both turnover and profits for the forthcoming year. The group - which recently agreed a new £28m banking facility with Barclays Bank and Lloyds Banking Group to fund its continuing expansion - achieved an annual turnover of £75m – up 6% on a like-for-like basis – and a 70% increase in EBITDA to £4m.
The group has continued making substantial investment in its retail business in recent years, including the opening of a new flagship store in Coventry in 2012, a £1m modernisation programme at the Cross Hands store, the refurbishment of Kitchen and Bathroom studios across the store portfolio, as well as a substantial upgrade of its online platform. The new-look leekes.co.uk includes new functionality enabling customers to click & collect in store, a feature which is already proving popular with customers.
The retail division achieved an EBITDA of over £1.7m for the year. Commenting on the trading success of its home department stores, Emma Leeke, MD of Leekes Retail, says: “With our continued investment in our stores, coupled with improvements in both the housing market and consumer confidence indicators, we are delighted to report a £2m profit improvement this year, with £4m of sales growth driving the bottom line.
"There has been a noticeable acceleration in the sales growth in recent months, with the forward order sales pipeline now up by nearly 30% - which should ensure that our significant improvement in profitability will continue into 2015/16. It is particularly pleasing to see the considered purchase departments including kitchens, bathrooms, conservatories, windows and doors all achieving double-digit growth, as well as strong sales in our core furniture and furnishings departments.”
The Leekes Group also achieved a growth in EBITDA to £2.1m in its Leisure Division - the Vale Resort - representing an increase of 10% on the prior year.
