Record period for Mamas & Papas caps a difficult year
NURSERY retailer Mamas & Papas is celebrating a return to profit following a restructure of the business.
The retailer had a record Christmas period, with like-for-like sales up 18% to £12.0m for the six weeks to 3 January 2016, up from £10.2m in the same period last year.
The company has been reeling from a difficult 2014, in which the group announced a deal with private equity firm BlueGem Capital Partners, who took a majority stake in the group, and six directors resigned.
Later that year, in September, Mamas & Papas Retail entered into a company voluntary agreement with landlords at some of its loss-making stores.
Parent company Mamas & Papas (Holdings) Limited returned to profitability within the second half of the year, according to the group.
In the accounts for Mamas & Papas (Retail), £88.6m in turnover was reached for the year ended 29 March 2015, down from £91.5m the year before.
Pre-tax losses for Mamas & Papas (Retail) also increased, from £12.1m to nearly £16m.
Accounts for the wider group show that exceptional costs of £4.6m associated with the CVA as a result of the closure of loss-making stores as well as the restructure of the Huddersfield head office.
The Mamas & Papas holding group reported turnover was relatively static at £137.6m, just down from £137.7m for the same period the year before, with pre-tax losses of £12.3m, up from £10.3m for the year ending March 2013.
As part of the restructure, a new four-year loan facility was also secured with HSBC to support ambitious investment plans, which will see Mamas & Papas open a store in London, as well as the launch of a new ecommerce platform in 2016.
Derek Lovelock, executive chairman, said: “Our strong performance this Christmas underlines the strength of the turnaround at Mamas & Papas.
“The first phase of the strategic plan, which included a fundamental restructure of the business, was completed at pace.
“Like the rest of the business, the UK retail estate is now trading well, outperforming business plan expectations and delivering robust like-for-like sales growth. We expect growth in both revenue and profit to be maintained.”
David Scacchetti, director at Mamas & Papas said: “The reorganisation of the Group in the year has significantly reduced the fixed cost of the company’s store estate and the change of ownership has placed the group in a strong financial position”
The business operates in 59 countries, has 34 stores in the UK and employs 1,245 people.
