Trading Statement for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2026

We had some tough comparatives to beat from the very strong trading period this time last year. In 2025, we enjoyed almost unbroken favorable weather, whereas this year we have seen a lot of weather volatility, especially during the peak months of May and June, which has proved very disruptive across the industry.

Against this background, I am very pleased to report further good progress in the first half of 2026. Sales increased by 13% overall, with like-for-like sales up 1.6%, of which Garden Centres achieved 0.7% and Restaurants 6.2%. Garden Furniture was a particularly strong category, with our new ranges getting strong traction with customers. Fashion also performed strongly, and we were very pleased with a 6% uplift in the restaurants. Plants and Gardening were inevitably somewhat weaker when compared with the exceptionally strong sales last year.

Overall, our like-for-like trading performance was 0.8% ahead of the GCA and +3.4% HTA industry benchmarks.

We were also pleased with the performance of the sites acquired last year. The stand-out centre was Busy Bees in the Isle of Wight, which has shown sales growth of over 60% in the 3 months since we refurbished it in April.

Gross margins strengthened again in the period, and staff costs fell as a percentage of sales. This reflects the continuing work to eliminate lost margin (profit gap) and increase productivity.

LFL Stock is running at flat to 2025, with Christmas carryover stock £2.4m lower. In June, we purchased a large parcel of stock at heavily discounted prices from a supplier exiting the UK market, which will be reflected in the half-year numbers. Before the Caledonia investment, our net debt to EBITDA is 0.8 times, which is an improvement from 0.9 in 2025.

All of the sites acquired last year made a positive contribution to profit during the period and we are happy with their performance overall. Since the beginning of the year, we have completed two new leasehold acquisitions, Leaf Creative, a smaller center turning over £1m west of Gloucester, and Holt, set within the Kelling Estate in Norfolk, a 6 acre site currently turning over £4m. We have also just purchased the Freehold of Highfield Garden World in south Gloucestershire, which is a 7 acre site turning over £8.5m, and completed on the 1st of July. That brings our total to 55 centres. The current pipeline is strong, with several other potential acquisitions under discussion.

Blue Diamond presented a garden again this year at the Chelsea Flower Show. It featured a wide variety of plants, all of which are available for sale in our centres, arranged into several types of garden. I am very pleased to tell you that this was awarded a gold medal, our second in a row.

We also announced a 3 year exclusive partnership with Diddly Squat Farm, otherwise known as Clarkson’s Farm. Together we will develop and bring to market a unique range of co-branded gardening products, designed to capture the spirit and character that has made Diddly Squat a household name, with millions of fans across the UK and beyond.

Our Youtube gardening series, Step by Step Gardening with David Domoney, is now the most popular gardening programme on Youtube, achieving over 500,000 viewers per episode.

Whilst there are obvious challenges in the UK economy and consumer sentiment at present, our trade is solid and we are looking to the rest of the year with confidence.

Yours Sincerely,

Neil McDonald

Group Finance Director & Company Secretary

Email: neil.mcdonald@bluediamond.gg