Frasers Group plc has reported an increase in revenue following acquisitions and international growth – but saw sales in its core UK Sports Direct business fall last year.
For the 52 weeks ended 26th April 2026, group revenue was up 8.7% to £5.3 billion, driven by international revenue growth of 59.2%. However sales in its UK sports division fell 4.7% and premium lifestyle dropped 6.9%.
Frasers, which owns House of Fraser and Flannels, saw overall retail growth of 8.3% to £5.1bn, while its property arm grew 55.1% to £96m and financial services – including Frasers Plus – fell 5.7% to £80.4m.
It was reported yesterday by Sky News that Mike Ashley’s retail and property group had entered the auction for the struggling iconic luxury department store Harvey Nichols despite objections from its brand partners.
Frasers, also looking to take over Hugo Boss, is tempted by the flagship Knightsbridge store, while ‘Harvey Nicks’ also has more than a dozen international locations.
Frasers said reported profit before tax from continuing operations was £527.8m, up 38.9% year-on-year, “largely due to the non-repeat fair value losses on equity derivatives held in relation to strategic investments”.
Adjusted profit before tax was £538m, down 4%, “as a £259.5m increase in impairments of tangible and intangible fixed assets, £34.7m of impairments of investments in associates, and a £37.5m increase in net bank interest costs were partially offset by a £33.8m gain from the disposal of the Coventry Arena, a £117.7m increase in premiums from strategic investments, £34m of extra provision releases year-on-year, and a £51.6m increase in share of profit from associates”.
During the period it completed acquisitions of Holdsport in South Africa and XXL in the Nordics, and opened its first stores with partners in Malta, Australia and the Middle East. New shopping centre and retail park acquisitions included sites at Swindon and Braehead. After the year-end, it completed the £370m acquisition of East Midlands and York retail outlets.
A $150m disposal of Sports Direct Malaysia was completed post year-end.
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Frasers said it was making continued progress towards its long-term ambitions of delivering more than £1bn in sales, £600m in credit balances and over 2 million active Frasers Plus customers.
The business ended FY26 with 1.1m active customers (FY25: 0.6m) and Frasers Plus accounted for 20.5% of UK online sales, compared to 12.0% at FY25.
Chief executive Michael Murray (pictured) said: “The Elevation Strategy is going from strength-to-strength, with positive momentum from brand partners and strong feedback from consumers validating our strategy and giving us the confidence to continue to execute with ambition and conviction.
“However, we continued to feel the impact of tough trading conditions, subdued consumer confidence and industry-wide excess inventory levels through Half 2 and into the start of FY27.
“These pressures are weighing on the entire sector, creating a prolonged and challenging environment, meaning the full potential of this progress has not yet been realised.
“Despite these external factors, the group remains focused, resilient and will continue to invest in opportunities that support sustainable profitable growth.”