Poundland loss doubles as discount retailer nears sale
Poundland nearly doubled its loss amid a drastic downturn which pushed the discount retailer to post a “challenging set of numbers” last year.
The retailer slumped to an £85.2m pre-tax loss in the year to September, nearly doubling the previous year’s £45.4m, its latest filings have revealed.
This loss came in the run-up to Poundland’s sale to investment firm Gordon Brothers, though its Boston-based owner is now set to offload the retailer little more than a year after buying it.
The group’s sales slipped 12 per cent to £1.5bn in the year to September 2025, as its gross margin narrowed to 31.4 per cent.
Poundland’s directors blamed its widening loss on “difficult trading conditions” and a “significant programme of restructuring”.
The retailer used 2025 as a “reset moment,” it said. “This led to a challenging set of numbers seen in these statutory accounts, but it has positioned the company as well as it could be in terms of its turnaround.”
The retailer shed 11 per cent of its staff in the period, as its average headcount slipped to 14,417. Most of these job losses came at the firm’s stores and distribution network, while the firm shed about 100 admin roles.
The group’s accounts also revealed that it had to reduce its revenue and cost of sales for the previous year by about £61.1m because of an accounting error which had no overall impact on profits.
Poundland slashed its store portfolio by 22 per cent, leaving it with 642 stores in January 2026 compared to 820 sites the year before.
Gordon Brothers bought the discount retailer for just £1 from Warsaw-listed retailer Pepco Group in July 2025.
Poundland up for sale again
It emerged last week that the investment firm is now nearing the sale of Poundland. Gordon Brothers has appointed advisers at Alvarez & Marsal to run an auction of the business, Sky News first reported.
Poundland says it has regained momentum under the ownership of Gordon Brothers, pointing to a revamp of its product offering and the return to its £1 price point in half of its grocery products.
Barry Williams, managing director of Poundland, said: “Re-building trust with customers takes time, but we’re making very significant progress as we deliver the ranges and price simplicity they demand of us.”
The retailer will open its first store in two years later this week when it cuts the ribbon on a new site in West Thurrock, Essex.
A spokesperson for Poundland said: “The filing is historic, covering old ground from a period that ended in Sept 2025, that reflects the challenging year that led to the well-documented need for a comprehensive restructuring plan.
“Since the period covered by the filing, Poundland’s made very significant progress under fresh leadership, returning, as we announced last week, to profitability.”