UK’s Halfords Faces $29 Million Increase in Costs From UK Budget

(Reuters) -British bicycle and car products retailer Halfords Group on Tuesday forecast its future costs to increase by around 23 million pounds ($28.86 million) due to higher employer social security contributions following the UK budget in October.

The 130-year-old company, which has retail stores, garages, mobile vans, and home delivery services, joins a growing number of UK firms warning of more than $1 billion in combined increased costs due to the rise in National Insurance Contributions paid by employers.

Halfords employs more than 12,000 people.

The effect of the UK budget on consumer behaviour, and hence, the trajectory of our end-markets is unclear,” the company said, while noting that the short-term outlook remained challenging.

Halfords noted that it had already factored in about 9 million pounds in costs in its planning assumptions for fiscal 2026.

The company also reported nearly flat like-for-like sales and underlying pre-tax profit for the six-month period ended Sept. 27. ($1 = 0.7970 pounds)

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)