Henderson Group turnover increased by 3.8% to £1.4bn for 2024, with the growth driven by solid like for like performance in both independent and company owned stores as well as investments and acquisitions throughout its retail estate.
The company’s foodservice arm, meanwhile, posted growth of 10.8% to £250m following exclusive new contracts with K&G McAtamney Wholesale Meats, Premier Wholesale Produce and Koffmann’s / The Food Heroes. The company’s retail coffee-to-go brand also experienced growth and now has over 800 Barista units in 620 retail sites across the UK.
However, profit before tax for 2024 was £63m, approximately £6m lower than in 2023, with Henderson putting this down to investment in wholesale and retail pricing, as well as continued investment in staff remuneration plus a wide range of other initiatives designed to improve colleague engagement.
Read more: Henderson Foodservice streamlines supplier data management systems
In total, the group invested over £26m across new and existing retail and property locations in 2024, while also renewing its partnership with Maxol to continue to supply 30 Henderson Retail operated service stations with branded fuel, with Henderson Wholesale continuing to supply to Maxol’s company owned service stations under the SPAR brand for the next five years on an exclusive basis.
Neil Gamble, chief financial officer at Henderson Group commented: “The grocery market remains highly competitive, therefore in 2024, we concentrated on investing profits back into the business to maintain our competitive position despite various economic challenges. Our co-investment strategy with retail partners has been key to establishing a best-in-class portfolio of supermarkets, forecourts and convenience stores, which has facilitated the strong sales performance across all our brand formats.”
