Next ups special dividend following £54m land sale

Next has sold off land in Essex for £54.1m after plans to use the site for distribution centres were no longer needed, in a move that will see its special dividends increase for shareholders.

In 2021, Next bought the land near Waltham Abbey with the intention of consolidating two regional distribution centres.  

Since then the plans for its distribution centre network changed, according to the group, and it “no longer plans to use this land”.  

The transaction, which was completed on 21 November 2025, generated net cash proceeds after costs of £54.1m, with an exceptional profit of £16.3m.  

In an update, Next noted that “transactions of this nature do not form part of our normal business”, meaning the profit from the sale will be classified as exceptional.

It added that the £54m of additional cashflow increases the surplus cash available for shareholder distributions in the current year.  

In its Q3 update last month, Next had said that in the absence of any acquisitions or further share buybacks this year, it would pay a special dividend of around £3.10 per share. The £54m additional cash inflow would increase that dividend by 45p.

Last month, the group reported sales rose by 10.5% in the thirteen weeks ended 25 October 2025, £76m ahead of its guidance of 4.5% sales growth.

As a result of this increase, the retailer raised its full-year profit guidance by £30m to £1.14bn.

It also increased its guidance for Q4 full price sales from a 4.5% increase to 7.0%, adding a further £36m of full price sales to its forecast.

In Q3, the company outperformed its guidance in both the UK and overseas markets. In the UK it saw sales growth of 5.4%, lower than the 7.6% growth it posted in the first half of the year but ahead of its 1.9% guidance.