Topps Tiles set for ‘another year of progress’ as sales continue to grow

Retailer Topps Tiles has notched up its fifth quarter in a row of rising sales as new boss Alex Jensen cheered hitting “significant milestones” in recent months.

The Leicestershire-based tile chain posted a 2% rise in like-for-like sales for the Topps Tiles brand in its first quarter to December 27, with consistent growth helping offset ongoing cost pressures, according to the firm.

Total group sales, excluding the CTD brand it bought in 2024, lifted 3.7% year-on-year.

This saw it outperform the market, although sales growth has slowed after Topps reported like-for-like growth of 5.3% in the year to September 27.

Shares rose 2% in morning trading on Wednesday after the update.

Mr Jensen, who took over as chief executive on December 8 after former longstanding boss Rob Parker retired, said the group’s sales growth came as it hit a number of milestones in the first quarter, such as concluding the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) disposal programme after it bought CTD out of administration in 2024.

CTD like-for-like sales rose 4.7% in the first quarter and the group said the completion of the CMA process “provides a solid foundation to support the group’s plan to deliver a profit in CTD in the 2026 financial year”.

The firm also last month snapped up the brand of collapsed rival Fired Earth in a £3 million rescue deal after the Oxfordshire-based competitor tumbled into administration in October, resulting in the closure of its 20 UK showrooms and 133 job cuts.

Mr Jensen said: “The Group continued to deliver growth in the first quarter across each of our existing businesses and delivered like-for-like growth in CTD stores, whilst achieving some significant milestones, including appointing an interim and permanent chief financial officer, closing the CMA process with CTD and acquiring Fired Earth assets.

“We are confident of delivering another year of progress both strategically and financially.”

Topps will have 22 remaining CTD stores, down from an initial 31, after an investigation by the UK competition watchdog required Topps to sell off a number of stores.

The CTD business was loss-making in the previous financial year amid costs linked to the CMA investigation.

Topps reported a statutory pre-tax profit of £8.3 million in the year to September, jumping from a £16.2 million pre-tax loss a year earlier.