4 November 2025
If you are covering ABF’s announcement it is looking into spinning off Primark, please find below a comment from Chris Beckett, consumer staples analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“ABF’s announcement that it is looking to spin off Primark probably comes about 10 years too late. This isn’t to say that Primark is a bad business, it remains a stalwart of UK and European high streets, but it isn’t exactly knocking it out of the park just now. The consumer backdrop is weak at the moment, and this is resulting in meagre growth. This contrasts strongly to its glory days in the 2010s, when it appeared it could do no wrong. The market appears to agree, driving ABF shares down despite the fact it should help remove the conglomerate discount it currently receives.
“For ABF itself, the market reaction suggests investors don’t much like the remaining business either, particularly as a result of its exposure to commodity prices. Its latest results paint a mixed picture and 2025 is looking like it will be a bit of a nothing year for ABF – little growth but nothing glaringly bad to point out.
“The news today shows how difficult it is for consumer companies right now, with a difficult economic backdrop. The fact a business as strong as Primark is failing to excite investors suggests that retail is a difficult place to operate and showing no signs of getting any easier. ABF arguably got lucky with Primark, but now that business has matured it may not have realised that much of the value has already been created.”
