A family-owned luxury jeweller has reported slowed growth in its latest financial results while continuing a programme of investment across its estate.
David M Robinson, founded in Liverpool in 1968 by goldsmith David Robinson, operates as a designer, manufacturer and retailer of fine jewellery with showrooms in Manchester, Liverpool, Altrincham and London.
In accounts for the year to 31 March 2025, the main trading company of David M Robinson Ltd recorded turnover rising from £58.6m to £60.4m. This 3 per cent increase compared with the 6 per cent rise achieved in 2023/24. The outcome came after a full year of trading across the DMR estate. The slowdown was attributed to a more challenging trading environment in which consumer spending patterns remained unpredictable. These dynamics form part of the wider DMR luxury retail outlook for the period.
Despite the rise in revenue, the company noted that substantial investment in upgraded showrooms over recent years had created higher rent and depreciation costs. As a result, operating profit fell by 3 per cent to £5m. EBITDA, however, saw an increase from £6.5m to £6.6m. This shaped a mixed DMR luxury retail outlook, with signs of stability in underlying earnings alongside tighter margins.
The business assessed its short-term outlook for the UK retail sector as “optimistically cautious”. It also highlighted the continuing absence of a reinstated Tax-Free Shopping scheme for international tourists, stating that this has “materially impacted the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for luxury retail, with high-spending visitors increasingly favouring alternative markets”. The issue formed a central factor in the constrained DMR luxury retail outlook.
Further pressure was attributed to the lack of a “coherent, long-term strategy” to address business rates, combined with increases in Employers NI. The company said this environment continued to generate “uncertainty, operational strain and additional cost pressures across the sector”. These conditions shaped the broader DMR luxury retail outlook and its implications for cost management.
Yet the business opted to continue long-term investment. It made the decision to acquire the freehold for Equitable Building in St Ann’s Square in Manchester, where its showroom is based. This was positioned as part of a strategic commitment to the future of its retail footprint.
John Robinson, managing director, said: “We have invested heavily in our future and an ongoing commitment to luxury retail in the North West with our acquisition of Equitable Buildings in St Ann’s Square in Manchester, helping to create a genuine luxury hub in the heart of the UK’s second city. We look forward with optimism to the year ahead and the DMR design workshops are entering an exciting phase for our boutiques in the North West, in Canary Wharf and in The Peninsula hotel in London’s Belgravia.”
Taken together, the figures and commentary indicated a period of moderated growth balanced by ongoing strategic investment. The DMR luxury retail outlook suggested measured confidence despite sector uncertainty, shaped by both external policy factors and internal commitments to development.
