Poundworld slips into red as 'challenging' conditions bite

The West Yorkshire-headquartered retailer, which is owned by US private equity firm TPG, registered pre-tax losses of £5.4m in the year to March 31, 2016. The prior year it had posted profits of £21.9m.

Sales jumped 9.6% to £462.7m.

“The financial year…was one of consolidation and investment for the business against the backdrop of continuing change for the value retail sector,” a Poundworld spokesman said.

In a filing with Companies House, Poundworld said it had focused on transitioning from a family-run business to “one with the leadership, systems and physical structure to support the planned growth”.

It said the changes had taken place “against the backdrop of a challenging retail landscape”.

Since last March, Poundworld has been led by Tesco’s former chief operating officer Gerry Gray. He took over from Poundworld’s founder Christopher Edwards. 

Poundworld, which has around 350 stores, is currently trialling a number of multi-price concepts, including Poundworld Plus and Poundworld Extra.

“We’re monitoring the performance of these stores closely and we’re taking on board the feedback of our customers,” the spokesman added.

Its rival Poundland has also been forced to move away from its single point as it grapples with sterling’s crash since the Brexit vote.

Poundworld said it is “looking to add substantially” to its store estate over the next three years.