Wickes profit doubles as DIY firm bets on solar
Home improvement retailer Wickes has doubled its profit as the firm positions itself to become a leader in solar panel installation.
The firm took revenue of £1.6bn, up six per cent, and pre-tax profit grew from £23m to £49m, in the year to December 2025.
Wickes was promoted to the FTSE 250 last year, as it mounted a turnaround after revenue was hit by a drop in customer appetite for big-ticket items like kitchen installations.
The home improvement retailer’s share price climbed in response to the positive results, rising to 225p on Tuesday’s early trading, up five per cent from Monday’s close.
The company hailed a record market share in retail, although its overfall share in home improvement, kitchens and bathrooms sits at only five per cent due to the £35bn size of this market, it said.
Spending on DIY is growing as the UK’s housing stock ages, with the majority of the UK’s 29m homes being more than 60 years old, the tools seller said.
A further one in five British homes are more than a century old, and UK houses are among the least energy efficient in Europe, according to Wickes.
Wickes is betting on its solar installation brand as a path for growth, with the total market set to be worth £1.5bn per year by 2028.
The firm is poised to take advantage of this “fragmented” market, which currently has no clear leader, it said.
“With a trusted brand and significant experience in design and installation services at scale, Wickes is well placed to be a market leader in solar and other home energy solutions.”
Chief executive David Wood told Morning Wire he saw more consumers buying products to insulate their homes to make them more energy efficient during the surge in energy bills in 2022.
Concerns around rising energy costs as a result of the Iran war could cause a similar trend as homeowners look to keep their bills low, Wood said.
“You would expect that people would start to look again at energy security and bringing down the costs of their energy consumption in the longer term,” he said.
The government runs a scheme to contribute to the cost of Brits installing new home insulation, but Wood said Labour should try to make it more straightforward for people to claim cash from the fund.
Installations rethink pays off
Wickes has seen improved momentum in its design and installation ranges following a slump in big-ticket sales in recent years, with revenue for this part of the business growing 4.4 per cent year on year.
Customers are reacting positively to the changes made by Wickes as part of the turnaround which boosted it into the FTSE 250, including making in-person design consultations more available and replacing its phone booking system with a website.
The home improvement company is also making forays into high-end appliances and kitchen decoration, such as by launching a premium pastel colour range including “Ohio pink”.
As the firm’s DIY retail range continues to perform, Wickes is investing its its TradePro members scheme, which counts 643,000 active members – with sales from these customers up nine per cent year on year.
Wickes opened five new stores last year, bringing its total number of UK stores to 230, and counts
The company plans to open four or five new locations this year, as the firm focuses on refitting up to 20 stores with more space for kitchen and bathroom showrooms.
“Continued investment in our proven growth levers positions us well for 2026, notwithstanding the uncertain consumer and geopolitical environment, the firm said.
Wickes declared a final dividend of 7.3p, giving a total dividend of 10.9p for the year, unchanged from the previous year.