Losses slashed at The Very Group after major investment
The Very Group said it has “delivered a resilient performance despite market pressures” as its losses were slashed.
New figures show the Liverpool-headquartered company made a pre-tax loss of £2.1m for the 39 weeks to March 30, 2024, after having posted a profit of £11.7m during the same months in the prior period.
The Very Group’s revenue also declined from £1.680bn to £1.667bn.
The business said it has outperformed the wider market while Very UK’s revenue rose by one per cent to £1.440bn.
During The Very Group’s first six months of its financial period it secured a £125m investment but fell to a half-year loss.
The company received around £85m from global investment firm Carlyle, while the rest has been provided by IMI to “support its growth strategy”.
As part of the agreement, Carlyle and IMI will each take a seat on the group’s board.
‘Market remains challenging’ – The Very Group
A statement signed off by the board said: “Retail sales performance was ahead of the wider market which remains challenging, with Very UK retail sales falling slightly by 0.4 per cent year on year compared to Q3 FY23 YTD.
“Group retail sales decreased year on year by 1.8 per cent, however this contributed to an increase in group market share given the declining market.
“Toys, gifts and beauty was an area of strategic focus in FY23 as we invested in stock pricing.
“The benefit of this investment continued in FY24 with growth of 2.5 per cent at a group level and 4.9 per cent for Very UK.”
The figures come after former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was appointed by the billionaire Barclay family to chair The Very Group.
The Stratford-on-Avon MP, who recently announced he would be standing down at the next General Election, has been the non-executive chairman at the Merseyside-headquartered group which includes Littlewoods.