B&Q owner warns of Labour’s national insurance increase – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

Kingfisher who owns B&Q and Screwfix has warned on Monday they are tightening their profit guidance as result of consumer uncertainty and Labour increasing employers’ national insurance contributions.

Kingfisher reported their third quarter was down and their full year profit guidance is between £510 million and £540 million.

Kingfisher’s shares are down 11% and are now trading at 263.4p, down by 31.5p due to weaker trading conditions in October.

Higher employers’ national insurance contributions is expected to hit Kingfisher by £31 million on 2025/2026.

Chief executive Thierry Garnier said, “Overall trading in the third quarter was resilient. Improved performance in August and September was offset by the impact of increased consumer uncertainty in the UK and France in October, related to government budgets in both countries.”

He added, “We continue to focus our energy on what we can control – delivering further market share gains through our key strategic priorities, and managing our retail prices, costs and cash effectively.”