Halfords CEO exits after seven years

Halfords chief executive Graham Stapleton has left the retailer after more than seven years.

Stapleton, who has been spearheading a transformation of the motoring specialist, is being succeeded by former Very Group CEO Henry Birch.

It comes as Halfords reported its pre-tax profits for the year will sit at the upper end of its £32m to £37m guidance following a “strong finish to FY25”.

Group like-for-likes were up 2.3% in the 52 weeks to 28 March, despite strong comparatives from the previous year of 5%.

Its retail business saw LFL sales rise 1.7%, boosted by an improving performance in both motoring and cycling in its second half.

The autocentres arm delivered a LFL sales increase of 3.7% against strong comparatives of 10.7% the previous year, thanks to growth in its services, maintenance and repair work offsetting weaker tyre sales.

Stapleton said: “This is a performance to be proud of, mitigating more than £30m of inflation in what continued to be a very challenging trading environment in FY25.

“I want to thank every single Halfords colleague for their hard work in achieving a significantly stronger result than we anticipated at the start of the financial year.”

“After seven years leading the transformation of Halfords from a cycling and motoring retailer to an omnichannel motoring services super-specialist, it is time for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of the business’s evolution.”

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