Wickes has announced a “robust” trading performance for the year ended 30 December 2023 as it confirms that it has acquired a 51% stake in Gas Fast Limited, parent company of Solar Fast.
In FY23, statutory profit before tax increased 2% to £41m as the group reported an 11% increase in TradePro sales.
However, group’s revenues slightly decreased 0.3% to £1.55bn as adjusted profit before tax after SaaS impact also decreased 31% to £52m.
During the year, Wickes opened three new stores in Chelmsford, Widnes and Torquay, creating 90 new jobs.
In the first 11 weeks of 2024 Retail sales are in line with last year, the retailer said.
David Wood, chief executive of Wickes, said: “This has been another year of strong progress for Wickes. Our robust trading performance, targeted investment programme and disciplined cost control have delivered profits ahead of expectations.
“In the current economic environment, our unrivalled focus on providing great value and service has underpinned this performance. With this, I would like to thank each of my colleagues for their continued dedication and support, enabling us to achieve record customer satisfaction.”
Today (19 March) the company has also announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the parent company of Solar Fast.
The UK market for domestic solar installations is highly fragmented and is expected to expand significantly from an estimated £1.1bn in 2024 to £1.5bn in 20281 as homeowners and landlords retrofit their properties in order to save energy costs and reduce their environmental impact.
The acquisition will enable Wickes to expand its offering into the fast-growing market for home energy solutions, initially with solar and gas boilers and, in time, air source heat pumps and other services.
David Draper, founder and CEO of Solar Fast, said: “This is tremendous news for Solar Fast. We’re a family business and our vision has always been to become the number one provider in the UK for quality domestic solar installations and with the Wickes brand behind us, we are closer to achieving that vision. I, along with all of the Solar Fast team, are very much looking forward to being part of the Wickes family and to working together to make UK homeowners more energy independent.”
Wood said: “The Wickes brand has been trusted by home improvers for over 50 years and with Solar Fast as part of our proposition we will be perfectly placed to support them with their energy saving plans.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome David Draper and his impressive team to the Wickes family and we look forward to delivering our exciting plans together.”
