Blue Diamond increased sales by 12.5 per cent to £215.6m in the six months to 30 June 2026, according to its unaudited interim results.
Pre-tax profit rose 16 per cent to £23.9m, from £20.6m a year earlier. The results are dated 30 September and were picked up by the trade press this week.
Key figures
- Garden centre sales up 10.1 per cent and restaurant sales up 17.7 per cent
- Like-for-like sales up 1.6 per cent. The company said this was 0.8 points ahead of the Garden Centre Association benchmark and 3.4 points ahead of the Horticultural Trades Association’s
- Earnings per share of 10.18p, up from 8.79p
- Net debt at 0.8 times EBITDA
- Turnover of £206.0m in the UK and £9.6m in the Channel Islands
- Interim dividend of 1.40p a share, up from 1.30p, payable on 4 December
Blue Diamond said long dry spells held back demand for plants and gardening across the market.
Stock and warehousing
Stock rose to £70.2m, from £61.8m a year earlier. The group said much of the increase came from a one-off purchase of heavily discounted stock from the supplier Ames, which has left the UK market, and that it would help margins in the coming months. Like-for-like stock was flat.
In September Blue Diamond bought Ames’ former RAF Snaith site near the M62 as a freehold. The 42-acre site has three warehouses and will serve as a distribution base for the group’s garden centres in the UK and Channel Islands.
Acquisitions and funding
The group bought the Leaf Creative and Holt garden centres in the first half and Highfield Garden World on 1 July. It said it expects to announce more acquisitions soon.
At the AGM on 2 July, shareholders approved a £60m investment from Caledonia: £40m for growth and £20m to fund a share buyback at 150p a share. The deal completed in July and is not reflected in the half-year figures. Finance facilities have been extended to 2029.
Outlook
The company said demand had been subdued in recent weeks but that it was well placed for Christmas and confident of a strong full-year result. Its year-end accounts will adopt revised FRS 102 lease accounting, which moves most operating leases onto the balance sheet and will increase reported EBITDA, debt and leverage.
Share