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Baroness Carole Bamford, the owner of upmarket British grocer Daylesford Organic, has said that she is prepared to prop up the business as annual losses widened at the retailer.
Bamford, who is the ultimate shareholder, confirmed in newly filed accounts at Companies House that she will continue to provide financial support “if necessary” to ensure the business, which sells strawberry and vanilla jam for £9.99 and a litre of semi-skimmed milk for £1.99, can exist in its current form.
The specification, which is not uncommon for privately owned and family run companies, came as Daylesford Organic posted a 2 per cent increase in revenues to £50.2mn for the year to April 1 2023, up from £49.1mn in the previous 12 months.
However, pre-tax losses widened to £3.6mn from £291,100 the previous year, bringing total losses to about £25mn since 2012. The accounts were signed off as a going concern.
Daylesford Organic, which sells organic produce and homewares in a handful of shops as well as through other upmarket retailers such as Ocado and Planet Organic, said it had operated in “a tough trading environment”. A period of high inflation, which weighed on food, labour and energy costs in particular, had significantly hurt its profitability, according to the filings.
Sales in its wholesale arm fell 7 per cent, while ecommerce grew a “modest” 5 per cent year on year, with retail stores driving sales, notching up a 10 per cent increase.
The grocer, founded in 1975 in a bid to champion high farming standards, is part of Bamford’s wider business, which also sells items such as clothes and offers wellness products and spa treatments in the Cotswolds.
Bamford’s husband Baron Anthony Bamford, son of JCB founder Joseph Cyril Bamford and chair of the construction equipment manufacturer, is a major Conservative donor and Brexit backer.
Daylesford Organic, which received government support during the pandemic, did not pay a dividend and its top executives were not paid a salary during the period. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
