Flooring distributor Likewise Group plc has reported new record sales with revenue increasing by 13.3% and the Solihull-based business still has its eyes on the prize of £200 million turnover.
But the company is advising that underlying profit before tax will fall short of current market forecasts in the current year to December 31.
However, Likewise will still produce profit significantly ahead of previous years.
Likewise attributes the drop in underlying profit before tax to the costs of absorbing the additional employers’ National Insurance costs, increased costs and an imbalance in the revenue increases across the group’s various activities.
Chief executive Tony Brewer said: ““We continue to develop our businesses at an impressive rate thanks to the very important commitment from our management and staff with the fantastic support of our suppliers and customers. The board thanks all involved for their ongoing contribution.
“We are absolutely focussed on improving the performance of the group to allow meaningful investment for the long term benefit of all stakeholders.
“The group is still well on course to achieve its medium term objectives including growth in both sales revenue and profitability in 2026,” he said.
Likewise has also announced Tony Brewer, non-executive director Andrew Simpson and mainstream residential director Adrian Laffey have purchased an aggregate of 116,253 ordinary shares of 1p each in the company. The shares were purchased through the reinvestment of the company’s interim dividend which was paid by the company in November.
Construction has commenced to create the Newport Distribution Hub which will be operational at the end of the first half of 2026. The logistics infrastructure has been refined in both Likewise Floors and Valley Wholesale Carpets to provide increased capacity for 2026 and future years.
Likewise is accelerating its sales and marketing activities to gain increasing share from independent retailers and flooring contractors. This is supported by greater capacity and enhancement of the logistics networks, providing the board with increased confidence in achieving and surpassing the group’s previous goals.
