Booker saw a 3.2% like-for-like sales decline during the first three months of its financial year, with the dip to £2.2m revealed in Tesco’s latest results for the 13 weeks ending 30 May 2026.
In comparison, Tesco had a 1.8% like-for-like sales increase to £13.4m during the same period across UK and Ireland, while Booker’s catering business also had a 3.3% annual sales decline in the quarter.
The supermarket attributed the decline at Booker to “impact from the ending of a lower-margin national account in August 2025, and the prior year benefiting from favourable weather”.
Read more: Interview: Booker Wholesale
Despite the drop, Tesco stated Booker saw “further progress in customer satisfaction scores including price, speed and availability [alongside] 146 net new retailer partners added in the quarter”.
During a financial call about the results, Tesco CEO Ken Murphy stated he was “confident in Booker’s performance”, referencing several upcoming improvements to its range.
He said: “We’re very focused on doing the right thing for our retail and catering customers and that’s something that gives me confidence. If we do see an upturn in the industry, Booker will benefit from that. Pricing is something we are very laser focused on.
“We recognise that we need to continually innovate in our product offering as we’ve seen the trend in retail move towards more fresh. We’re mirroring that in our Booker portfolio with a stronger fresh offering. We’re reformulating and innovating around our own brand range, both in frozen and fresh for retail and catering customers.”
Murphy added Tesco would also be “lending its expertise” to Booker on the deposit return scheme (DRS), which is expected to go live in October 2027.
He explained: “We’re waiting for a formal announcement in terms of the timing of DRS, so, we clearly have been some backwards and forwards. As a Tesco company, we’re obviously prepared and ready to invest in DRS.
“It’s important to note that Booker customers are independent. They own their own businesses and they will take responsibility for their investment decisions on DRS.”
