Customers get on their bikes, boosting profits at Redditch-headquartered Halfords

Halfords Group, the UK's leading motoring and cycling products and services retailer which has its headquarters in Redditch, has reported a substantial growth in profit, up £40.4 million on last year to £96.3 million.

The company reported strong growth in cycling services, up more than 50 per cent. The retailer's Tredz brand grew its revenues by more than 66 per cent, and profit by £7 million, as it focussed investment on one performance cycling brand following the closure of Cycle Republic.

It also expanded its coverage of the commercial market through the acquisition of Universal Tyres in March, adding 20 garages to its fixed estate and 89 commercial vans.

The company's autocentres, including its Halfords Mobile Expert vans, gained significant market share, growing just under 10 per cent like for like, against a backdrop of traffic more than 25 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

Revenues were up by nearly 14 per cent at £1,292 billion.

Graham Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are delighted to have delivered a year of very strong financial and operational progress, especially in light of the extraordinary challenges presented by the pandemic.

"It was a year in which Halfords' transformation into a service-led business was rapidly accelerated, and we were particularly pleased to achieve a record revenue performance in the strategically important area of motoring services. We have continued to increase our scale and capacity in this area and customers can now receive our services at almost 800 fixed locations, or at home from one of our 143 mobile expert vans.

"We have also continued to lead the transition to an electric vehicle future by investing in training and technology. By the end of the current financial year, we will have trained more than 2,000 of our store and garage colleagues to service electric cars, bikes and scooters.

"Demand for our services remains strong in the new financial year, and our touring categories are currently performing particularly well given the trend towards staycations this summer. In the longer-term, we remain confident in the future prospects for the UK's motoring and cycling markets and our ability to compete strongly in both."