Autumn Budget: B&Q boss hands Reeves tool kit for growth Retail Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the boss of retail stalwart B&Q warns truly fixing the foundations starts with building confidence. After Labour’s monumental 2024 general election sweep, Chancellor Rachel Reeves seized her economic tool kit, telling Britons she was “fixing [...]
Shares in B&Q owner Kingfisher unexpectedly spike after sales boost Retail Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, saw its share price rise more than 17 per cent on Tuesday morning after posting a better-than-expected sales update. The FTSE 100 firm told markets that sales improved 0.9 per cent in the six months ended 31 July, 2025, to £6.8bn, driven by a 4.4 per cent [...]
Retailers’ woes stretch into second day after bearish Deutsche note Retail A sell-off affecting some of the UK’s largest retailers has extended into a second day, after an analyst warned the spectre of higher taxes in the Autumn Budget, a softening labour market and sticky inflation will dent consumers’ spending habits. Shares in AB Foods, Wickes and B&Q-owner Kingfisher all shed between one and 1.5 per [...]
DIY demand boosts sales at B&Q and Screwfix owner May 28, 2025 Strong UK sales have driven a positive start to the year for B&Q owner Kingfisher, despite a slowdown in sales in France and Poland. The home improvement company, which operates 1,900 stores across seven European countries, said total sales rose 1.8 per cent to £3.31bn in the three months ended April 30. Shares dropped two [...]
WHSmith and Inchcape lead fall in retail stocks April 4, 2025 UK retail stocks have dropped in value this morning, led by a sell-off of WHSmith, Inchcape and AO World. Earlier today, tax body RSM said that price rises at UK retailers as a result of the tariffs were “inevitable”. “The tariffs announced by President Trump this week would in themselves be a blow to the [...]
B&Q: Kingfisher CEO’s pay slashed by £4m as profit cut April 3, 2025 The boss of Kingfisher, the group behind the likes of B&Q and Screwfix, saw his pay slashed by almost £4m as its sales and profit took a significant hit during its latest financial year. Thierry Garnier took home almost £2.3m for the 12 months 31 January, 2025, down from the nearly £6m he received in [...]
Kingfisher: French trading dampens performance of B&Q owner March 25, 2025 Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, has reported a drop in sales driven by the weak consumer market in France. Sales fell 1.5 per cent to £12.78bn in the year ended January 31, Kingfisher told markets this morning. This drop was overwhelmingly driven by a 6.2 per cent drop in sales in France, [...]
Investors shed Kingfisher stocks as trading update a ‘clear disappointment’ November 25, 2024 After a strong run for much of the year, Kingfisher stocks have plummeted more than 13 per cent this morning as investors reacted to an underwhelming sales update. The top end of its previously-guided profit forecast of between £510m and £550m has been shaved to between £510m and £540n. While the estimate “does not represent [...]
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher: Weak trading in France and £45m tax hit cause shares to plummet November 25, 2024 Shares in Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, have dropped nearly 13 per cent after it tightened profit guidance due to weak trading in France and a higher tax bill in both France and the UK. Kingfisher expects the impact of changes to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) announced in the UK’s latest [...]
Should a business be like your family? The boss of B&Q thinks so November 5, 2024 A business should be more like a family in order to attract employees with the right moral and cultural judgements, the boss of B&Q has said.