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PRIVACY
Retail & Consumer

B&M goes back to basics as ‘operational weaknesses’ hit profits and shares plunge

Group focusing on discounts and key product ranges as it bids to improve its performance

B&M wants to bring 'excitement and great value' back to its stores(Image: MEN)

Discount retail chain B&M Bargains has launched a “back to basics” transformation plan after a “weak” operational performance hit its half-year results and sent shares falling this morning.

Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail says profits for H1 2026 will be down on last year. It’s expecting adjusted EBITDA of £198m for the first half, down from £274m last year.

The group blamed weak “operational execution”, as well as falling margins. It also expects a £30m impact from the rise in the national minimum wage and employer national insurance.

And it now expects group adjusted EBITDA in the range of £510m-£560m for the full year.

As a result, it has launched the Back to B&M Basics plan to boost its performance by making stores more exciting and offering more deals to its customers. The group said “We are taking decisive actions to correct the operational weaknesses identified”, and added the plan could take 12-18 months to take full effect.

But the trading update hit shares this morning, with shares falling as much as 17% in early trading, meaning hundreds of millions of pounds were wiped from its value.

For the 26 weeks to September 27, the group saw revenue rise 4% to £2.75bn thanks to growth in the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ and France and the opening of 46 stores. In the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ, B&M’s like-for-like sales grew just 0.1% in the first half, with some success in the first quarter followed by a like-for-like decline of 1.1% in the second quarter that was below group expectations.

The Back to B&M Basics plans include: