Halfords driven by autocentre boom to create "hundreds" of new jobs

A motoring and cycling retailer has announced that it is launching a campaign to create hundreds of technical roles.

Halfords, headquartered in Redditch, said today that the campaign to recruit skilled technicians is a result of “substantial growth” across its retail and autocentres divisions.

The company expects its profits to pass £55m for the first half of the year, and has seen a 22 per cent growth increase on last year in the past five weeks.

Its cycling division has seen a 46 per cent growth in the same period, with autocentres up 18 per cent and motoring up 7.5 per cent.

This comes just months after the retailer announced plans to shut down its Cycle Republic stores.

Halfords commented: “Given stronger than expected trading since week 20, we now expect profit before tax for H1 FY21 to be in excess of £55m.

“We do, however, remain cautious in our outlook for H2. The potential impact of second waves of Covid-19 now seems more pronounced than just a few weeks ago, and the economic impact of an end to the furlough scheme and the outcome of Brexit negotiations remains very uncertain.

“We are well placed to address any headwinds we may face and capitalise on the tailwinds as they arise. Our balance sheet and liquidity position remain strong.”