Angling Direct Reports Strong H1 Growth and Upgrades FY26 Outlook

Angling Direct’s H1 FY26: Double‑digit growth, fatter margins, and a guidance upgrade

Angling Direct’s half-year numbers show a retailer growing into its UK market-leader status. Revenue is up 17% to £53.6m, margins have widened, and management has lifted full-year guidance. That is a strong combo in a tricky consumer backdrop.

The engine is firmly the UK omni-channel model – stores plus online working together – while Europe is moving from drag to optionality. There are still headwinds (consumer softness, wage and NI inflation, and EU competition), but the strategic execution is clearly paying off.

Headline financials investors should know

Metric	H1 FY26	YoY
Revenue	£53.6m	+17.0%
UK sales (total)	£51.1m	+17.7%
– UK retail store sales	£30.5m	+15.4%
– UK online sales	£20.6m	+21.2%
Europe sales	£2.5m	+5.1%
Gross margin	38.0%	+130 bps
Adjusted EBITDA (pre IFRS 16/2)	£3.9m	+39.4% (margin 7.2%)
Adjusted PBT	£3.0m	+34.7%
Basic EPS	2.91p	+29.9%
Net cash	£12.5m	Down from £17.0m
Operating cashflow	£4.9m	In line

Definitions: “bps” means basis points (100 bps = 1 percentage point). “Adjusted EBITDA” is a profit proxy that strips out interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and here also IFRS 16 lease and IFRS 2 share-based payment effects.

What drove the beat: UK omni-channel firing on all cylinders

UK like-for-like sales rose 14.2% – a big step up that speaks to the strength of the integrated model. Store like-for-like sales were up 9.8% with better footfall, while online grew 21.2% on more customers (+17.9%) and higher conversion (+160 bps). The “shop the range” in-store tech – letting customers order the full digital range for home or store delivery – is doing its job.

MyAD, the loyalty and repeat purchase membership, is the unsung hero. Membership is up 21% to over 496k, improving engagement across channels and widening Angling Direct’s data advantage. More omni-channel customers equals a bigger share of the angling wallet.

Margin gains: own-brand, scale and smarter pricing

Gross margin improved 130 bps to 38.0%, helped by a richer mix of own-brand ranges, better supplier terms, and scale. Own-brand gross profit grew by roughly 55% versus around 18% for third-party brands. That is accretive now and strategically important – own brand is a lever management can pull with more control.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 39.4% to £3.9m with margin up 120 bps to 7.2%, demonstrating operating leverage. Central costs were held lean at 6.1% of UK revenue, supporting the aim of sub-7% on a full-year basis.

Cash, buyback and the balance sheet

Net cash was £12.5m at 31 July 2025 (31 July 2024: £17.0m). The reduction is explained by investment in the UK store rollout, digital shelf-edge technology, and the ongoing buyback. By the period end and the reporting date, £1.7m had been deployed under the programme; 4,398,000 shares (5.7% of issued) were held in treasury at an average 38.2p. That supports EPS accretion, as visible in the 2.91p basic EPS.

Operating cashflow was steady at £4.9m. Inventories were £26.2m (31 July 2024: £21.9m), reflecting growth and a stronger own-brand push. Capex continued across stores and tech, with property, plant and equipment at £12.1m.

Europe: losses narrowing, Utrecht breakeven

Europe remains disciplined and data-led. Sales rose 5.1% to £2.5m, and adjusted EBITDA losses reduced by about 40% to £0.2m. Digital channel margin improved by 330 bps to -8.3%, and gross margin lifted 20 bps to 29.4%. The first European store in Utrecht hit breakeven for HY26 with customer numbers and MyAD members scaling quickly.

Management is prioritising profitable sales in Germany and the Netherlands, switching to a third-party logistics provider and adding “just-in-time” stock from suppliers to expand range by over 25% without tying up working capital. Europe is still competitive and price-driven, but optionality is intact.

Operational upgrades: tech to offset cost inflation

Digital shelf-edge labelling is being rolled out across the estate by December 2025. It should free up colleagues for customer-facing work and make pricing more agile – useful when living wage and employers NI have stepped up. Theft remains a sector-wide issue; new protocols helped nudge UK retail gross margin up by 10 bps year-on-year.

On digital, the in-house team is leaning into a customer insights platform to improve search and recommendations. Social reach is growing fast – c.546k followers, up 31%, with YouTube views up 15% to 3.9 million. This all feeds the acquisition flywheel into MyAD.

Trading since period end and upgraded FY26 outlook

In August and September, Group revenue rose 10.8%. Management flags softer consumer demand and a lack of summer rainfall impacting fisheries as moderating factors. Even so, the Board has upgraded guidance to Group revenues of not less than £102.0m and adjusted EBITDA of not less than £4.35m for FY26.

For context, Angling Direct says prior market expectations stood at £97.7m of revenue and £3.75m of pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA. The UK store footprint has also stepped up post period-end to 57 with openings in Bradford, Stourport and Burnley.

My take: why this matters

• Execution is tight: Strong like-for-like growth, margin progression, and cost control in a tough macro environment is not easy. Angling Direct is pulling multiple levers well.
• Structural advantage: MyAD and “shop the range” make the omni-channel moat deeper. The more customers engage across both channels, the better the economics.
• Own-brand momentum: A 55% uplift in own-brand gross profit is a meaningful support for margins and differentiation.
• Guidance upgrade: Upgrading FY26 on revenue and EBITDA – even with a softer post-period backdrop – is a confident signal.

Watch-outs and what to monitor next

• Consumer and weather sensitivity: Management called out softer demand and the dry summer. Seasonality and weather can move the dial in angling.
• Cost inflation: Living wage and NI increases remain a headwind. The shelf-edge tech should help, but benefits will phase in through FY26.
• European competition: Pricing remains intense. The strategy to prioritise profitable sales and reduce losses is sensible – watch the trajectory of EU EBITDA and the impact of the “just-in-time” range expansion.
• Inventory discipline: Inventory has stepped up with growth and own brand. Keep an eye on stock turns as the second half plays out.

Strategy and medium-term goals remain intact

The medium-term targets are unchanged: UK revenues of £100m, adjusted EBITDA in excess of £6m, Europe at break-even, and surplus capital deployed for growth and selective M&A. H1 puts Angling Direct squarely on that path, with the UK model doing the heavy lifting and Europe steadily de-risking.

Dividends are not disclosed. Capital returns are currently focused on the buyback, which has reached £1.7m of the £4m programme at the reporting date.

Bottom line

This is a clean, confident set of results: faster growth, better margins, stronger earnings, and upgraded guidance. The UK omni-channel engine is purring, and the tech investments should compound advantages into FY26. Macro and weather caveats apply, but momentum and execution are firmly in Angling Direct’s favour.