Poundland owner accelerates store opening plans as demand grows

Poundland owner Pepco is to accelerate its store expansion plans after it saw a “strong” start to the new financial year.

The company, which also owns the Dealz chain in Ireland and continental Europe, said it has seen growing demand from new and returning customers facing pressure on their household budgets.

It told shareholders it expects revenue growth to continue in the “mid to high teens” as a result of higher like-for-like sales and the store investment plan.

Pepco said it plans to open around 550 stores in the current financial year, driven by growth in central and eastern Europe.

The firm had 516 net new store openings over the previous year, excluding the closure of 59 Fultons Foods shops.

Pepco revealed that revenues increased by 17.4% to 4.8 billion euros (£4.1 billion) in the year to September 30, compared with the same period last year.

The retailer said it “outperformed” the wider retail market despite “challenging” economic conditions, including significant cost inflation.

The update comes two weeks after the group welcomed back former chief executive officer Andy Bond as chairman following a recovery from illness.

Pepco chief executive Trevor Masters said: “Despite industry-wide short-term challenges, Pepco Group delivered another year of good progress and resilient trading performance, driven by our successful and proven strategy.

“We accelerated our profitable store expansion programme – our biggest source of value creation – and store refit strategy, helping to enhance our like-for-like performance.

“We also lowered our cost structure and improved back-office processes to be significantly cheaper and more efficient, helping us grow sales and deliver on EBITDA and cash generation.”