Spinneys 1961 Holding

The listed premium grocer

As of: 2026-08-10

Spinneys 1961 Holding PLC is the DFM-listed grocery group, trading as SPINNEYS. Its core supermarket operations are in the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia, under banners including Spinneys, Waitrose and Al Fair. The profile concerns this legal group: the presence of the same retail name elsewhere is not sufficient to add another business to its accounts.

The issuer was incorporated in the DIFC on 21 November 2023 and converted to a public company on 29 March 2024; it was admitted to DFM on 9 May 2024. The retail story is older: the company traces its Dubai grocery history to the first Al Nasr Square store in 1961. The legal holding company and the operating heritage therefore have different starting dates.

Fresh food, private label and repeat shopping

As of: 2026-06-30

The commercial model combines grocery sales with a smaller rental-income stream. Premium fresh products, own-label ranges and convenient access are central to the proposition. In H1 2026, management reported fresh-food penetration of 64.5% and private-label penetration of 47.3%; these categories overlap and their percentages must not be added together as if they were separate revenue segments.

Transactions rose to 21.8 million while the average basket was AED 86.40. Like-for-like sales growth was 1.9%, below total revenue growth. Editorial interpretation: a customer visiting more often but spending slightly less on each trip creates a different operating challenge from growth driven by a larger basket. Availability, assortment, waste and staffing all affect the margin retained from those visits.

Group structure: retail, sourcing and new markets

As of: 2026-06-30

The group combines retail operators, food-production companies and overseas sourcing entities. Its British, American and Australian sourcing subsidiaries support procurement and exports; they are not evidence of supermarket networks in those countries. The selected table follows the June accounts and keeps the reported interests dated.

The Saudi company was already consolidated at 50% under the shareholder agreement. The Kuwait entity at 51% is a controlled subsidiary, while the Philippines investment at 40% is an associate. Neither new-market business was operating during the half-year. Ownership percentage, legal structure and operating status therefore answer different questions; a new entity is not an opened store.

Store estate, selling area and online access

As of: 2026-08-10

The August release describes 93 stores: 81 owned and 12 operated, including Waitrose, across the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. “Owned” in this network classification should not be read as proof of freehold ownership of every store property. The group separately recognises substantial leases. Managed locations and group-owned retail businesses need not contribute revenue in the same way.

Eleven new stores opened between July 2025 and June 2026, taking gross selling area above one million square feet. This is selling space, not a land bank or an entitlement to build. Online penetration reached 19.1% in H1 2026. Editorial interpretation: online reach improves access, but the sales share does not disclose the delivery channel’s stand-alone profitability after picking and fulfilment costs.

The UAE earnings base and Saudi expansion

As of: 2026-06-30

The geographic accounts show how different the established base and expansion markets remain. UAE operations generated about 94.3% of first-half 2026 revenue, calculated from the disclosed totals. Saudi revenue increased, but its pre-tax loss widened to AED 15.382 million from AED 8.146 million. More sales in a developing market therefore did not yet translate into a positive segment result. Oman moved from a small loss to a small pre-tax profit.

Revenue in the table is after intercompany eliminations and includes the same rental-income perimeter as consolidated revenue. Other activities include overseas sourcing offices: their gross intersegment sales should not be added to the retail group’s consolidated turnover. Profit is reported before tax; subtracting the group tax expense of AED 28.875 million from AED 203.395 million reconciles to net profit of AED 174.520 million.

These are geographic segment results, not store-cohort margins, individual-store payback or a forecast for new openings. The Saudi amounts are fully consolidated under the control assessment at the reporting date; they are not multiplied by the ownership percentage. The subsequent purchase of an additional Saudi stake changes the ownership split, not the meaning of the reported half-year revenue.

Controlling shareholder and management

As of: 2025-12-31

Al Seer Group held 76.89% at 31 December 2025 according to the integrated report. The interim accounts identify Al Seer as the parent and Albwardy Investment as the ultimate parent, majority owned and controlled by Ali Saeed Juma Albwardy. The dated percentage is not presented as a fresh August ownership-register snapshot.

The annual report identifies Ali Al Bwardy as chairman and the August results release identifies Sunil Kumar as CEO. A concentrated shareholder base can support continuity, but related-party leases and the rights of other shareholders remain relevant. Editorial interpretation: the share not held by the controller should not automatically be labelled fully available trading liquidity.

Annual results and a softer second quarter

As of: 2026-06-30

The table uses consolidated statutory figures in AED millions, converted from reported AED thousands. FY 2025 is audited, whereas H1 2026 is interim reporting reviewed by EY. Total revenue includes rental income and must not be labelled grocery sales alone. Parent-owner profit differs from total profit because non-controlling interests recorded losses.

The full-year comparison shows growth in both sales and earnings. The half-year was more mixed: sales and profit rose, while operating cash flow declined. Q2 revenue was AED 895.147 million against AED 909.669 million a year earlier, so half-year growth did not mean growth in every quarter.

Management reported gross-margin pressure from freight and inflation and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.4%, against 20.1% in the comparison period. Adjusted EBITDA is management-defined and separate from statutory profit. Editorial interpretation: resilient headline profit should be read alongside the lower margin and cash flow, rather than as evidence that regional disruption had no cost.

Cash, deposits and the cost of rented space

As of: 2026-06-30

At June end, cash and short-term deposits totalled AED 843.304 million, including AED 746.000 million of deposits. Cash and cash equivalents for the cash-flow statement were only AED 97.304 million. Both figures are correct under their different definitions; treating the deposit-inclusive number as the cash-flow closing balance would be misleading.

Lease liabilities totalled AED 1062.890 million. Those future rental obligations remain relevant even with substantial deposits, and they should not disappear from the business description because a conventional net-cash measure excludes leases. Editorial interpretation: grocery retailers receive customer cash quickly, but supplier payments, stock rebuilding, new-store investment and lease principal can still absorb it. The half-year cash-flow outcome is not a guaranteed annual run rate.

Saudi ownership increase and expansion options

As of: 2026-08-10

After the reporting date, the company announced the acquisition of an additional 20% in the Saudi subsidiary for SAR 18 million, taking its interest from 50% to 70%. The June table correctly retains 50%; the later transaction is a separate dated event. Buying a further interest in an already consolidated subsidiary is not the same as adding a wholly new business to consolidated sales.

Kuwait and the Philippines were development plans without operating activity in the June accounts. Management’s August outlook retained expansion into these markets while emphasising cost control and saying it would reassess full-year guidance in the third quarter. New-market ambitions should therefore be described as plans, not completed store openings or secured future earnings.

The board approved an interim dividend of AED 122.4 million, or 3.40 fils per share, with distribution expected in early September 2026. Approval and expected timing are not proof that payment has occurred.

Risks behind a full shelf

As of: 2026-08-10

Fresh-focused retail depends on reliable sourcing, temperature control and a balance between availability and waste. The H1 disclosure describes shipment delays, freight rerouting and inflationary pressure. Holding more stock may protect availability but can consume cash or raise spoilage exposure; holding too little can lose sales. Management’s mitigation does not make the supply chain risk-free.

Editorial interpretation: the durable test is whether the existing stores retain customer frequency and margin while Saudi expansion and new concepts mature. Online penetration and private-label share are useful operating indicators, but neither alone proves incremental profitability. This profile does not extrapolate guidance, calculate a share valuation or recommend a transaction.

Official contacts and source dates

As of: 2026-08-30

Retail website: https://www.spinneys.com/. Investor relations: https://investors.spinneys.com/. Investor mailbox: IR@spinneys.com; published communications mailbox: communications@spinneys.com. The IR contact page gives the Spinneys head office on the first floor at Nad Al Sheba First, Meydan, Dubai. These are public business channels; no personal employee telephone is supplied.

The interim financial statements give the legal registered address as Unit 813B, Level 8, Liberty House, DIFC, Dubai. It is kept separate from the head-office contact location. The latest interim package checked on 30 August 2026 covers the period ended 30 June and is dated 10 August; reporting periods, subsequent events and website-check dates are distinguished throughout. PDF references use physical file pages.

Sources

1. S1 · FY 2025 audited statements · 2026-02-11
2. S2 · H1 2026 reviewed interim statements · 2026-08-10
3. S3 · H1 and Q2 2026 results release · 2026-08-10
4. S4 · Integrated Report 2025 · 2025-12-31
5. S5 · Investor contacts · 2026-08-30