The Works: Shares triple in value after ‘living to fight another day’
Shares in The Works have more than tripled in price in the space of four months after recovering from investors questioning “its relevancy in modern retail”.
Stock in the West Midlands-headquartered company was priced at 20p towards the end of March but their value has rocketed since then and are now changing hands for more than 63p.
The current price is the highest shares in The Works have been worth since February 2022.
However, the total is still way down on the 175p they were priced at when The Works not long after it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2018.
Shares in The Works have surged after the retailer revealed its financial results for the year to 4 May, 2025.
While the company’s revenue fell from £282.6m to £277m in the 12 months, its pre-tax profit increased from £6.9m to £8.3m.
The Works said it remains on track to achieve sales of £375m as part of its five-year targets.
The Works to ‘live to fight another day’
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: “The Works has been through a turbulent time since being a listed business as investors questioned its relevancy in modern retail.
“By 2024, its shares were essentially priced as if the business was going bust.
“The shares soared earlier this year when it reported an improvement in profitability and unveiled a new strategy to be a more efficient operator and help consumers better understand what the business does.
“The share rating was so low that it didn’t take much to drive a bounce-back in the stock, essentially the market’s way of saying The Works would live to fight another day.
“The stock has jumped again on the latest results amid profit growth and positive trading in the first 11 weeks of its new financial year.
“It’s headed in the right direction and management remain enthused by the new strategic plan. However, getting the public to better understand what’s on offer is going to be hard.
“The Works has a reputation for stocking a real mishmash of products that might work as birthday or Christmas presents but which aren’t essential purchases.
“It’s a low margin business that relies on passing trade. It isn’t a destination retailer in the way that names like Marks & Spencer or Next are places people proactively visit.
“The Works might have some smart ideas to get more people through the door, but repositioning the brand could be harder than it thinks.”
The “turbulent time” cited by AJ Bell included being hit by a cyber attack in 2022 which disrupted till systems, in‑store transactions, stock deliveries and online order fulfilment.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, The Works CEO Gavin Peck said his company had achieved an “encouraging performance” and ended the year “in line with recently upgraded market expectations”.
He added that “positive momentum” leaves “us well placed for further strategic and financial progress in FY26”.