Likewise Group Posts Strong FY25 Results with 56% Profit Growth

Likewise cash flow and balance sheet strength look solid, with a few things worth watching

Cash generation was good. Net cash generated from operating activities increased to £8.8 million from £7.2 million, and year-end cash rose to £4.0 million from £2.2 million.

The company is also leaning hard into property ownership. It highlighted £31.6 million in property assets and just £5.1 million of fixed borrowings, which gives the balance sheet more substance than you usually see in a small-cap distributor.

That is clearly a positive. Owned sites can support future expansion, provide asset backing and reduce reliance on landlords over time.

But this is not a debt-free story. Total borrowings in the accounts were £11.8 million at year end, and lease liabilities were £21.5 million. A chunk of the borrowing is invoice discounting, which is a working capital facility secured against receivables, so it is part of how the business funds growth rather than a red flag on its own. Still, investors should keep an eye on it as sales rise.

Working capital also moved up. Inventories increased to £22.7 million from £20.0 million and trade and other receivables rose to £21.3 million from £19.2 million. That is normal in a growing distribution business, but it does mean more cash is tied up in the system.

Likewise expansion strategy gets another push from Leeds, Newport and Derby capacity

This RNS was not just about the 2025 numbers. It was also full of operational detail, and that is important because Likewise is still very much in build-out mode.

The group now has 13 operating locations, 108 sales executives and management, and 159 commercial vehicles. It also said 77 new and replacement trucks are being purchased between January 2025 and the end of 2026, taking the fleet to more than 160 during autumn 2026.

The operational theme is simple enough – add capacity now so the business can support higher sales later. The extension in Newport is due to be operational in July 2026, and management says that additional cutting capacity will increase Likewise Floors capacity by 30%.

There is more. The additional pallet distribution hub in Leeds is already operational, and after the year end, on 20 April 2026, Likewise completed the acquisition of a freehold property in Leeds for £2.85 million, excluding SDLT and associated fees, financed through an additional term loan facility from NatWest.

The board also said it has agreed non-binding heads of terms to buy a new 60,000 square feet high-bay distribution hub in the East Midlands. If that happens, it would add further logistics muscle between Leeds, Birmingham and Sudbury, although completion is not disclosed and the agreement is non-binding.

Likewise trading update for 2026 is very strong, but management is right to stay cautious

The immediate trading update is probably the bit that will catch most investors’ eyes. Sales for January to March 2026 increased by 15%, and April is said to be maintaining similar momentum.

That is seriously encouraging. It suggests the momentum seen in FY25 has carried into the new year, and it brings the group closer to its original £200 million sales target.

In fact, management now sounds more ambitious than that. The board says there are opportunities in the UK flooring market to meaningfully exceed £200 million of sales, with a medium-term objective of building a £250 million business.

Still, the company did not pretend the road is risk-free. It flagged global uncertainty and pricing pressure on raw materials and finished products, and said it will implement price increases from 1 May. That is sensible, but price rises always carry some execution risk if customers push back.

Likewise dividend increase adds confidence, even if income is not the main attraction

The proposed final dividend rises 10% to 0.275 pence per share, taking the total dividend for FY25 to 0.4125 pence per share. That is up from 0.3750 pence in FY24.

This is not a big income stock, and nobody should be buying Likewise mainly for the yield. But a higher dividend does reinforce the message that management is confident in cash flow and future trading.

What this Likewise Group RNS means for retail investors

My read is positive. Likewise is showing the sort of progress you want from an expanding distribution business – higher revenue, better margins, stronger underlying profits, improved cash generation and a clear plan to add capacity before it is fully needed.

The most attractive part of the story is that the infrastructure investment now seems to be feeding into improved profitability. That is when growth stories get more interesting, because investors stop asking “can they grow?” and start asking “how profitable can this get?”

The main negatives are not hidden. Reported profit is still fairly modest at £1.1 million before tax, the group uses working capital finance, and management itself admits the global backdrop is difficult to predict. That makes this a promising execution story, not a finished one.

Even so, the start to 2026 looks strong, the balance sheet appears supportive, and capacity additions in Leeds, Newport and Derby give the business room to keep pushing forward. For retail investors, this reads like a company moving from build phase towards better returns on all that investment – and that is usually where the market starts paying closer attention.