Furniture Village, the UK’s largest independent furniture retailer, has reported another strong year of trading, achieving EBITDA of £8m for the year ended 29th March 2015, an uplift of 43% on the previous year.
According to the retailer, this was achieved through a like-for-like increase in order intake in excess of 6%, reflective of both a strong performance across the existing store base, and a significant increase in online orders. In addition, margins returned to levels previously achieved and costs continued to be efficiently managed.
The underlying business model provides the basis for continued growth, with net cash inflow from operations increasing from £7.3m the previous year to £11.8m, and at the balance sheet date, the bank term loan was fully repaid. As such, the net debt position at year end was +£7.3m – a £7.6m improvement on the previous year.
In August 2014, Furniture Village secured a £6m investment from the Business Growth Fund in order to accelerate expansion plans. Combined with significant internal cash generation, this pngoing support has enabled the commencement of measured yet ambitious growth plans.
Given a favourable economic outlook an expansion strategy is under way at Furniture Village, starting with the opening of a new Enfield branch this August Bank Holiday weekend, to be closely followed by an additional branch in Northampton. Terms have been agreed for several other locations, and the company is on target to open 20 stores within the next five years. Given the considered and prudent expansion strategy to date, many of these potential new stores are without risk of cannibalisation, and instead are able to leverage the existing national infrastructure and marketing reach.
Peter Harrison, CEO of Furniture Village, comments: “We are pleased to report that the trading momentum achieved over the last couple of years has continued into the new financial year. We remain very excited about our plans for the future as we expand the business to achieve a truly national coverage, and benefit from considerable growth opportunities, both online and in stores.
“As ever, we recognise that our greatest strength is our people, and, without any doubt, we owe our success to the calibre, commitment and loyalty of everyone throughout the business, which we value above all else."
