Pepco says Poundland exit ‘expected’ by September

In a statement released alongside its first-half financial results, the company said the “board continues to actively explore separation options for the Poundland business with an exit expected by the end of FY25”.

Dropping Poundland sales led to a marginal decrease in like-for-like revenue for parent group Pepco in its H1 2025 results, despite sales increases at its other brands Pepco and Dealz. Reported sales were nevertheless up by 4.3% to reach €3.3bn.

Like-for-like sales at Poundland dropped by 7.3% in the six months to March 2025 versus the same period a year before.

Pepco sales by the same measure increased by 2.3% and Dealz sales were up 2.3%. This translated to a 0.7% decrease in like-for-like revenue growth for the Polish company.

Poundland’s shrinking margins also impacted the wider group, with the business reporting a “material decline in Poundland EBITDA” offsetting “strong Pepco EBITDA growth”. The underlying EBITDA of €460m (£388m) was down 5.5% on H1 FY2024.

Pepco chief executive Stephan Borchert said: “At Poundland, trading remains challenging, which is reflected in a profit outturn below expectations for H1 and a weaker outlook for the full year.

“Barry Williams, who was reappointed as Poundland managing director in March 2025, and his team are actively driving a recovery plan to help turn around the business by refocusing on its traditional core strengths. We continue to undertake a process to separate Poundland from the group, as part of a wider strategy shift away from FMCG, with a divestiture expected before the end of FY25.”