Kitwave expects growth even as spending slows

WHOLESALE group Kitwave has told investors it still expects to report profit growth even as consumer spending slows.

- TOM KEIGHLEY Business writer [e-mail]

Ben Maxted, Kitwave CEO

The Tyneside-based group, which owns chilled and ambient depots around the country, says trading over the six months to the end of October has been as expected.

It comes as a survey from the British Retail Consortium pointed to a slower growth in consumer spending in the run up to this month’s Budget.

The consortium’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said rising inflation and “a potentially taxing budget” was weighing on the minds of many households planning their Christmas spending.

Kitwave had noted fragility in consumer confidence when it published first-half results showing double-digit growth in revenue and adjusted operating profits.