Booker is to invest more heavily in its fresh proposition for independents, as the wholesaler reported a 4.1% annual like-for-like increase in sales to £1.7bn.
The increase was revealed in parent group Tesco’s interim results for H1 2025/2026, which showed Booker’s retail was the wholesaler’s most successful division. In comparison, the firm’s catering business grew like-for-like sales by 5.7% to £1.46bn during the same period. Tesco attributed the uplift to 275 net new retail partners across its symbol estate.
Speaking on a financial call about the results, the supermarket’s chief executive Ken Murphy said the business had seen increasing demand from customers for fresh food.
Asked by Better Wholesaling how Booker was helping its retailers keep up with rivals Co-op and Morrisons who are also investing in fresh across their convenience estate, Murphy responded: “Booker had its customer conference this week and it was really well received. You will see across the board an uptick in the fresh proposition in Booker. We think it’s very important for independent retail. The beauty is that because Booker is balanced across retail and catering, so it’s able to invest very heavily in that fresh proposition.”
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Asked whether symbol retailers will see investment in new store formats to cater to the growth in fresh food, Murphy said: “There’s probably scope in Budgens and Londis, but probably less in Premier.”
In April, Better Retailing exclusively revealed Tesco Clubcard was being trialled in a small number of centrally-owned One Stop stores. Commenting on the performance, Murphy said: “It’s going well but we don’t have any results to share with you at this stage.”
Meanwhile, Booker recently lost its contract to supply Marks and Spencer to rival Blakemore, ending a 15-year-relationship. Asked how significant the impact on volume and sales will be, Murphy responded: “It’s not that material. It is going to have an impact but not a material one. Booker continues to grow share in retail and catering, so we’re not concerned about that.”
