Family-owned shoe retailer Pavers has reported lower profits for the year to 31 January 2026, as rising employment and operating costs outweighed sales growth.
Accounts filed at Companies House on 30 October show:
- turnover up 4.8 per cent to £179.8m (2025: £171.6m)
- gross profit broadly flat at £45.0m (£45.1m)
- distribution costs up to £18.6m (£16.7m) and administrative expenses up to £20.0m (£18.1m)
- operating profit down to £6.6m (£10.5m)
- pre-tax profit down to £6.1m (£9.7m).
Staff costs
Average staff numbers fell from 1,913 to 1,878. Total staff costs still rose from £37.5m to £40.9m, with employer social security costs up from £2.6m to £3.5m.
In the strategic report, chairman Stuart Paver described profitability for the year as “disappointing”. He said revenue growth was not enough to offset higher employment-related and operational costs, and that the rise in national insurance for part-time staff was “particularly burdensome”. Efficiency savings did not come through quickly enough to deliver the cost reductions planned for the year.
Current trading
The report says several initiatives started during the year are now paying off and that trading so far this year is encouraging. It adds that customers’ preferences are changing quickly, that there is still a lot of work to do on systems and data, and that there are growth opportunities across most of its channels. Recent capital investment has gone into shop fits, the warehouse and IT.
Pavers was founded in 1971 by Catherine Kinloch Paver and is currently chaired by Stuart Paver and run by managing director Jason Paver. The company donated £183,000 to the Pavers Foundation during the year.
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