Dobbies optimistic on turnaround prospects as restructuring costs hit earnings

Dobbies, which has restructured following the arrival of chief executive David Robinson in 2023, has generated a double-digit like-for-like sales advance in the current financial year.

The retailer this week filed accounts at Companies House that showed a decline in earnings in the previous two years.

Dobbies, unusually, posted the results for both periods at the same time because the timing of court-approved restructuring – including offloading stores – disrupted the normal schedule.

In the 2024 financial year, Dobbies’ sales were £270m and there was a loss at underlying EBITDA level – management’s preferred measure of performance – of £1.7m. In the year to February 23 2025, sales dipped to £257m and the loss rose to £6.2m.

The performances reflected factors such as a hit from the weather in the first year, and restructuring costs in the second.

Robinson told Retail Week: “These are historic. Since February we’ve had good weather and strategic initiatives landing. We’re double-digit up like-for-like, and basically we’re where we expected to be.”

Dobbies now trades from 53 stores and has a new working capital facility of £28m in place as it presses on with turnaround.

The store estate is being improved with £4m of development investment. The retailer has also been improving and expanding ranges and enhancing its restaurant offer.