Angling Direct revenues surge 11.9% to £91.3m in FY 2025
Additionally, its UK online sales also increased by 8.4% to £35.7m, driven by higher unique customers and the ongoing success of the MyAD loyalty and repeat purchase membership model
Angling Direct, the omni-channel specialist fishing tackle retailer, has reported a 11.9% surge in £91.3m in FY 2025, driven by strong trading performance in the second half of the year despite the ongoing challenges in the broader consumer landscape.
It comes as revenue in the UK business (stores and online) increased 11.7% to £86.4m. According to Angling Direct, the performance reflected the success of various self-help initiatives, including improved third party ranging and availability, an “increasingly compelling own brand offer” and the growth of the MyAD omni-channel customer loyalty club to over 409k subscribers, an 86% increase vs 31 January 2024 (220k).
Meanwhile, the UK like-for-like store sales grew 14.2% to £50.7m, benefitting from increased footfall and higher transaction volumes.
The company accelerated its new store opening programme through the year, utilising its strong balance sheet to open three new stores in Cannock (February), Newark (June) and Derby (January) with the acquisition of a further three businesses in Crewe (March), Walsall (May), and Shrewsbury (July).
These new stores, alongside those opened in FY24, contributed an additional £4m of sales in the year and the company now operates 53 stores across England and Wales.
Additionally, its UK online sales also increased by 8.4% to £35.7m, driven by higher unique customers and the ongoing success of the MyAD loyalty and repeat purchase membership model.
Outside of the UK, the group’s European online sales increased 7.1% to £4.6m (FY24: £4.3m) with a continued focus on its key markets of Germany and the Netherlands.
The period saw the opening of the group’s first European store in Utrecht, the Netherlands (May). Further progress was made in reducing European operating losses, with the ambition remaining to build a sustainable European business and increase its addressable market.
Angling Direct stated that aligned with its medium-term objectives, management remains focused on gross margin development through a number of initiatives, including improved ranging, buying and own brand deployment, alongside driving cost efficiency through both innovation and operational leverage as the UK and European businesses scale.
The strong trading performance has enabled the group to apply its capital allocation policy by investing in growth through its accelerated new store roll out and own brand ranging, alongside returning capital to shareholders as part of its ongoing share buyback programme.
Steve Crowe, CEO of Angling Direct, said: “FY25 marks another year of significant progress against our medium-term objectives with growth delivered both in stores and online. The continued expansion of our UK footprint combined with the growing momentum of our MyAD customer loyalty club, provides a clear line of sight to achieving our medium-term revenue and adjusted EBITDA targets of £100m and £6m, respectively.
“We are proud to have delivered this strong performance against a highly challenging market backdrop and our sustained growth, despite persistent macro headwinds, demonstrates the resilient nature of our business model and demand for our products from a steadily growing customer base. This strong performance is testament to the hard work of our dedicated team and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all of their efforts.”
