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John Lewis will pay out a bonus to partners for the first time in four years, as full-year profits rose by 6% to £134m, with partners receiving a 2% annual bonus following strong trading over the period.
For the year ended 31 January 2026, sales rose by 5% to £13.4bn, after the group invested 26% more than the prior year in stores, technology, supply chain and wider brand initiatives, whilst reporting “record” customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Despite the strong performance, the company said year-on-year profit growth was “held back” by headwinds of £53m from non-like-for-like taxation, comprising £13m from the new packaging levy and £40m from higher national insurance contributions.
The group also reported a pre-tax loss of £21m, attributed to exceptional charges which included write downs of legacy systems as it updated its technology.
Nonetheless, according to John Lewis, its “disciplined financial management in recent years, combined with improving cash generation, good liquidity and low levels of external borrowings” has enabled it to distribute the payout, which is equivalent to an extra week’s pay for all partners.
Looking ahead, it added that in 2026 it is investing £108m in base pay, bringing its total investment in partners’ pay to £340m over the past three years.
Jason Tarry, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Our multi-year plan to invest in customers and our brands for the long term is working; we have grown customer numbers and achieved record satisfaction. Despite a subdued market, a challenging lead into the crucial peak period and increased taxes, we took the decision to continue investing in the business, and have delivered cash and profit growth.
“There is much still to do, but our growing cash generation and strong balance sheet enable us to invest more in our brands and our partners to improve the experience for our customers. I’m really grateful for the commitment and passion our partners bring and, alongside our continued investment in partner pay, we’re pleased to be in a position to award a 2% Partnership Bonus. We remain on track to make further progress this year.”
The last time the partnership paid a bonus was for the year to January 2022, having scrapped the bonus for the first time since 1953 in 2020, after reporting a half-year loss of £635m amid the pandemic.
Last year, the John Lewis Partnership confirmed its staff would not receive a bonus for the third year in a row, with the group instead focusing on investment into employee pay.
