During the golden quarter, for the seven weeks up to 27 December 2024, Very UK posted strong financial results with sales up 2.3% year-on-year. This comes as the Barclay family, the owners of The Very Group, are preparing to float a sale of the business.
Very Group’s sales were up by 0.5% year-on-year and without the impact of Nike sales, Very UK grew up 4.5% and Group retail sales grew by 2.8% year-on-year.
Sales growth per category was as follows:
- Home was up by 15%
- Toys, Gifts & Beauty was up by 7.3%
- Fashion & Sports was up by 2.9% (11.2% excluding Nike)
Robbie Feather, Group CEO at The Very Group, said: “We’re delighted with our strong peak trading performance, which has been made possible thanks to the determination of our brilliant team who focus on helping families get more out of life, all while continuously enhancing the online shopping experience.
“By bringing together our amazing assortment of products with compelling deals and our best-in-class fulfilment operation, we delivered growth in almost all categories, with games consoles, air fryers and perfume among our best sellers.
“Customers left shopping later this year but when the time came, they made the most of our offering, with this momentum carrying on into our Boxing Day and January sales. Looking ahead, we remain focused on the rest of 2025 which we expect will remain highly competitive. We are confident that our proposition, which combines multi-category digital retail and flexible ways to pay, will continue to be valued by our customers, providing them with a one-stop-shop for everything they need.”
Thanks to strong peak trading and progress with its cost-saving initiatives, the Very Group expects Q2 FY25 YTD Group adjusted EBITDA growth of 16% – 18%.
Back in December, it came to light that the Barclay family, owners of The Very Group, took more than £100 million of dividends from the business in the months leading up to bankers chasing long-overdue debts. To tackle rising debts, the Barclays are expected to float a sale for their online shopping empire in the coming months.
A total of £107.7 million was reportedly taken out of the holding company for The Very Group in 2022 as Lloyds Banking Group prepared to send in receivers to chase vast unpaid loans totalling £1.2 billion the following summer, according to The Telegraph.
Directors Aidan and Howard Barclay admitted that its growing debts have caused “uncertainty over the future of the company” as well as the family’s wider business empire.
As a resolution, the Barclay family is said to be hoping to pay off creditors by selling The Very Group in the coming months. Back in October, the group appointed investment bankers to prepare an auction scheduled to commence in early 2025.
