Blue Diamond have just published their Trading Statement for the Year Ended 31 December 2025.  

Group Finance Director & Company Secretary, Neil McDonald, has reported that total sales for the year grew by just under 19%. Like for like sales for the full year were up 6.1% (8.4% in the first half and 4.2% in the second half) with Garden Centres at 6.3% and Restaurants at 5.8%.

The full statement is as follows:

"Our focus during 2025 has been on three principal objectives: Maximising trade from the good gardening season; integrating the six centres acquired in the year; and improving core profitability despite market and tax headwinds. We are pleased to report success with all of these.

"After the very strong sales performance in the first half, we achieved good growth through the autumn and Christmas. Total sales for the year have grown by just under 19%. Like for like sales for the full year were up 6.1% (8.4% in the first half and 4.2% in the second half) with Garden Centres at 6.3% and Restaurants at 5.8%. This was ahead of the market by a small margin. Customer numbers are up 3.2% and basket spend is up 2.9%.

"New acquisitions have had a significant positive impact on the result for 2025. We are pleased to report that all six sites acquired in 2025 are performing at or ahead of target, with the three sites acquired from the former Dobbies estate achieving sales increases of over 100% on the previous year. At Yarnton we have plans in place for significant development in early 2026. Barton Grange and Busy Bees (Isle of Wight) came on board later in the year and are trading in line with our expectations.

"Overall margin improved again in 2025, with all of the increase coming from the Garden Centres, driven by both improved bought in margin and our profit gap initiatives. We are particularly proud of the improvements in labour efficiency, as reported in the half-year trading update, which have continued into the second half with the result that labour cost to sales fell by 0.8% over 2025, despite the effects of last year’s budget in the UK.

"Our working capital has improved and the year-end cash position is ahead of budget, overall net debt is within our target.

"The consumer environment in the UK as we move into 2026 is far from strong. We are also unlikely to have such benign weather, so we recognise we will have to work hard to achieve sales gains, especially in the first half. We have plans for this, and we will benefit from the continuing additional contribution from recent acquisitions. Our intention is to build on the success of 2025 with another progressive year."

Yours Sincerely,

Neil McDonald

Group Finance Director & Company Secretary

https://www.bluediamond.gg/investor-relations/financial-reports