B&M Shares Slide Despite UK Recovery Signs as Investors Focus on Like-for-Like Sales Decline

B&M European Value Retail (LON: BME) shares are down more than 4% on Wednesday morning after the discount retailer published its first-quarter trading update for the 13 weeks to 27 June 2026, with investors seemingly unsettled by a continued like-for-like sales decline in its core UK business.

Group revenue rose 2.0% year-on-year to £1.43 billion, buoyed by a standout performance from B&M France, where revenue jumped 14.6% and like-for-like sales accelerated to 5.3%, up from 1.7% in the previous quarter. Heron Foods also delivered a solid quarter, with revenue up 2.8% and like-for-like sales growth of 2.6%.

However, B&M UK — by far the group’s largest division — saw like-for-like sales fall 2.3%, as a slow start to the garden season weighed on trading against a strong comparative period last year, when unseasonably warm weather boosted April 2025 sales by 10.9%.

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General merchandise sales did return to growth in May and June, but this was offset by weaker FMCG performance, with margins in that category remaining below prior-year levels amid continued price investment.

Chief Executive Tjeerd Jegen struck a cautiously optimistic tone, pointing to progress on the group’s “Back to B&M Basics” turnaround plan, including SKU rationalisation now 75% complete across UK stores, and an improving general merchandise trading margin.

The market reaction suggests investors remain focused on the pace of B&M UK’s recovery rather than strength elsewhere in the group, with the FMCG margin pressure and ongoing UK like-for-like softness likely dominating analyst commentary ahead of incoming CFO Atheeq Akbar’s arrival in February 2027.