Shares in Debenhams Group (LON: DEBS) jumped more than 11% on Tuesday after the online fashion retailer — formerly known as Boohoo Group — reported a return to growth in its first quarter, marking what management called a pivotal inflection point in the company’s multi-year turnaround.
Debenhams Group surged to 20.89p on Tuesday, up 11.1% from Monday’s close of 18.8p, on heavy volume of over 6.4 million shares, as investors cheered an upbeat Q1 FY27 trading update that showed Group Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) rising 0.5% year-on-year — the company’s first return to growth in some time.
The momentum was particularly striking in May, when GMV accelerated to approximately 8% growth. Performance was led by the flagship Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing, with improvements also recorded across Boohoo, BoohooMan and Karen Millen.
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Profitability metrics impressed equally. Gross margin expanded to 53.5% from 52.1% in the prior year, while exceptional costs fell a sharp 72% and capital expenditure dropped 54% year-on-year. Returns rates also declined by around 5%.
Looking ahead, the Board reiterated confidence in delivering double-digit percentage growth in full-year Adjusted EBITDA from the £53m guided for FY26, alongside free cash flow generation in FY27. Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA is on track to fall below 1x this year.
CEO Dan Finley said the Q1 result was the product of “the heavy lifting of our multi-year turnaround,” adding that the transition to an asset-light marketplace model — now live across all brands with approximately 25,000 partners onboarded — is translating into materially improved profitability.
Full-year results for the period ended 28 February 2026 are expected within the next two weeks.
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