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U.K. (FTSE) Retail Distributors Industry Analysis

UpdatedApr 14, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies7
  • 7D3.0%
  • 3M0.4%
  • 1Y11.0%
  • YTD1.4%

In the last week, the Retail Distributors industry is up 3.0%, with Inchcape up 2.4%. Meanwhile, Headlam Group actually underperformed within the industry, shrinking 9.7% in the last week. In the last 12 months, the industry was up 11%. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 8.7% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.K. Retail Distributors Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Wed, 15 Apr 2026UK£3.3bUK£11.2bUK£262.5m9.6x12.5x0.3x
Fri, 13 Mar 2026UK£3.4bUK£11.3bUK£293.2m7.5x11.4x0.3x
Sun, 08 Feb 2026UK£3.5bUK£11.1bUK£302.2m8.1x11.5x0.3x
Tue, 06 Jan 2026UK£3.3bUK£11.1bUK£302.2m7.9x10.8x0.3x
Thu, 04 Dec 2025UK£3.3bUK£11.1bUK£302.2m8.9x10.8x0.3x
Sat, 01 Nov 2025UK£3.2bUK£10.0bUK£275.6m9.4x11.4x0.3x
Mon, 29 Sep 2025UK£2.9bUK£10.0bUK£276.8m9x10.4x0.3x
Wed, 27 Aug 2025UK£2.9bUK£10.0bUK£287.3m9.1x10.2x0.3x
Fri, 25 Jul 2025UK£3.4bUK£10.4bUK£277.3m10.2x12.3x0.3x
Sun, 22 Jun 2025UK£3.0bUK£10.4bUK£277.7m9.6x10.8x0.3x
Tue, 20 May 2025UK£3.0bUK£10.4bUK£277.7m9.1x10.9x0.3x
Thu, 17 Apr 2025UK£3.1bUK£10.4bUK£277.9m9x11.2x0.3x
Sat, 15 Mar 2025UK£3.2bUK£10.4bUK£281.4m8.8x11.5x0.3x
Mon, 10 Feb 2025UK£3.1bUK£12.8bUK£302.2m8.9x10.1x0.2x
Wed, 08 Jan 2025UK£3.6bUK£12.8bUK£302.2m10.2x11.8x0.3x
Fri, 06 Dec 2024UK£3.6bUK£12.8bUK£301.8m10.1x11.8x0.3x
Sun, 03 Nov 2024UK£3.4bUK£12.7bUK£300.3m10.7x11.2x0.3x
Tue, 01 Oct 2024UK£3.7bUK£12.8bUK£296.8m10.5x12.4x0.3x
Thu, 29 Aug 2024UK£4.0bUK£12.8bUK£316.7m12.4x12.6x0.3x
Sat, 27 Jul 2024UK£4.0bUK£12.6bUK£307.7m13x13.1x0.3x
Mon, 24 Jun 2024UK£3.5bUK£12.6bUK£303.2m11.5x11.7x0.3x
Wed, 22 May 2024UK£3.8bUK£12.6bUK£303.2m12.4x12.5x0.3x
Fri, 19 Apr 2024UK£3.5bUK£12.6bUK£301.0m11.3x11.6x0.3x
Sun, 17 Mar 2024UK£3.1bUK£12.6bUK£301.2m10.2x10.3x0.2x
Tue, 13 Feb 2024UK£3.2bUK£11.1bUK£273.2m9.2x11.8x0.3x
Thu, 11 Jan 2024UK£3.4bUK£11.1bUK£273.2m9.4x12.5x0.3x
Sat, 09 Dec 2023UK£3.2bUK£11.1bUK£273.2m9.2x11.8x0.3x
Mon, 06 Nov 2023UK£3.3bUK£11.0bUK£267.2m9.5x12.3x0.3x
Wed, 04 Oct 2023UK£3.5bUK£11.0bUK£264.5m10.2x13.4x0.3x
Fri, 01 Sep 2023UK£3.6bUK£11.0bUK£278.7m10.8x13x0.3x
Sun, 30 Jul 2023UK£3.9bUK£11.0bUK£278.7m10.3x13.8x0.4x
Tue, 27 Jun 2023UK£3.6bUK£9.2bUK£282.0m10.3x12.7x0.4x
Thu, 25 May 2023UK£3.8bUK£9.2bUK£282.0m10.7x13.4x0.4x
Sat, 22 Apr 2023UK£3.7bUK£9.2bUK£282.5m11.3x13x0.4x
Price to Earnings Ratio

13x


Total Market Cap: UK£3.7bTotal Earnings: UK£282.5mTotal Revenue: UK£9.2bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Retail Distributors Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 11.7x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are relatively neutral on the British Retail Distributors industry at the moment, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates to remain steady.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PE ratio of 11.7x.
  • The industry is trading close to its 3-year average PS ratio of 0.30x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Retail Distributors industry have declined 2.4% per year over the last three years.
  • Meanwhile revenues for these companies have grown 6.8% per year.
  • This means that although more sales are being generated, either the cost of doing business or the level of investment back into businesses has increased, which has decreased profits.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.K. Consumer Discretionary industry?

GB Market1.71%
Consumer Discretionary0.57%
Retail Distributors2.97%
Distributors2.97%
Industry PEThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.
Forecasted GrowthThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
INCH InchcapeUK£8.105.2%
+UK£142.0m		15.2%PE10.6x
SUP SupremeUK£1.358.9%
+UK£12.9m		-15.1%PE7.3x
SNWS Smiths NewsUK£0.697.5%
+UK£11.6m		27.4%PE5.9x
LIKE Likewise GroupUK£0.2310.7%
+UK£5.5m		27.9%PE42.7x
ULTP Ultimate ProductsUK£0.466.9%
+UK£2.5m		-27.8%PE9.9x

Latest News

HEAD
UK£0.31
Headlam Group
7D
-6.0%
1Y
-62.4%
ULTP
UK£0.46
Ultimate Products
7D
6.9%
1Y
-27.8%

ULTP: 2026 Dividend Cut And Guidance Will Support Re Rating Potential

Analysts have maintained their price target for Ultimate Products at £1.65, reflecting only small adjustments to assumptions around discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E. Their overall valuation view remains broadly unchanged.
INCH
UK£8.10
Inchcape
7D
5.2%
1Y
15.2%

INCH: Buyback And Rising Dividend Will Drive Future Share Price Upside

Analysts have raised their price targets for Inchcape to a range of about £8.30 to £13.30. This reflects updated views on the shares and differing ratings from Hold to Buy.
LIKE
UK£0.23
Likewise Group
7D
10.7%
1Y
27.9%
SNWS
UK£0.69
Smiths News
7D
7.5%
1Y
27.4%
SUP
UK£1.35
Supreme
7D
8.9%
1Y
-15.1%