Angling Direct Reports Strong H1 Growth and Upgrades FY26 Outlook

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.