Sales rise for growing Angling Direct
Angling Direct, the fishing tackle and equipment retailer, has reported growth in sales in the six months to the end of July.
Revenue was up 5.6 per cent to £45.8m for the group, which has shops in Cannock, Halesowen, Shrewsbury, Walsall and Willenhall.
The half year saw an 8.4 per cent rise in shops to £26.4m with Uk online sales up 2.8 per cent to £17m.
Chief executive Steve Crowe said: “The progress made on expanding our UK footprint, alongside the roll out of our customer loyalty club, MyAD, and the associated growth of revenues in our existing UK stores and digital platforms, provides further confidence in achieving our medium-term UK revenue target of £100m.
"In the UK, we have leveraged our balance sheet strength to accelerate our new store roll out programme, with the opening of two new stores and the acquisition of three businesses, increasing our UK customer reach. In Europe, we are pleased to note the opening of our first store in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in May which continues to scale footfall and revenues."
Angling Direct bought three businesses in the half year in Crewe (March), Walsall (May) and Shrewsbury (July). The company now operates a total of 52 stores across England and Wales.
UK online sales increased primarily from delivering higher transaction volumes through increased customer numbers.
