The Very Group Shows Profitability Gains and Revenue Growth Despite Losses

The Very Group has released its Q1 FY26 results (covering the 13 weeks to late September 2025), reporting continued losses but demonstrating “further improvements in profitability and a return to top-line growth” when compared to the same period last year.

This follows a year (FY25) described as “robust” despite a significant pre-tax loss attributed to a writedown of an inter-company loan extended to the Barclay family’s holding company, coinciding with the business’s change in ownership to Carlyle, a major lender, and its subsequent listing for sale.

Despite a challenging market, The Very Group achieved a 2.4% increase in revenue, reaching £460.8 million for Q1. The core Very UK operation drove this growth, with revenue rising 3.7% to £406.7 million, representing the majority of the firm’s retail sales.

This revenue growth was fueled by increases in both Retail and Finance sectors. Retail sales of goods increased by 0.9% to £341.3 million, while Finance revenue experienced a more substantial jump of 5.8% to £112.9 million.

Within Very UK, the Home category performed particularly well, growing 10.9% year-on-year. The Sports category also saw strong gains, increasing by 12.3% following the introduction of new brands in the latter half of the previous year. The Toys and Beauty categories continued their positive trajectory, collectively growing 6.4%, with Beauty alone contributing 4.1% of that increase.

While Fashion and Sports combined saw a 1% decline due to market conditions, the strong performance of Sports partially offset this. Notably, casual womenswear within Fashion experienced a significant boost of 30.1%, aided by the September 2025 launch of The Very Collection, the company’s new own-brand offering, which is expected to contribute further in subsequent periods.

These positive trends translated to a rise in gross profit, increasing to £173.4 million from £163.3 million. This resulted in a statutory gross margin rate of 37.6%, a 1.3 percentage point improvement.

Continued focus on cost control measures contributed to a 16.3% increase in pre-exceptional EBITDA, reaching £63.4 million. However, despite these improvements, the company still reported a total pre-tax loss of £24.9 million, wider than the £23.1 million loss recorded in the prior year.

Similarly, the net loss increased to £31.4 million from £23.1 million the previous year. Nevertheless, the company emphasizes that underlying performance is improving and moving in a positive direction.