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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Graham Hiscott

Billionaire brothers behind B&M to net £44m windfall as coronavirus doubles profits

The billionaire brothers behind discount chain B&M Bargains are set to net another £44million windfall after profits more than doubled during the coronavirus crisis.

Simon and Bobby Arora are among those quids in after B&M’s parent company announced a dividend bonanza.

The £293milion payout to shareholders included a £250million special dividend because the firm has more cash than it knows what to do with. It also announced a 4.3p half-year dividend worth a total of £43million.

The company paid a separate £150m special dividend in April.

Yet the group has benefited from a business rates holiday put in place by the Government to help retailers hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

B&M stayed open throughout lockdown (Getty Images)

Sales B&M European Value Retail, which has more than 1,000 stores under the B&M, Heron and Babou brands, jumped by 25.3% to over £2.2billion in the six months to the end of September.

Profits soared 128% to £253milllion.

The Arora brothers own a near 15% stake in B&M European Value Retail through a Luxembourg-based entity called SSA Investments.

They have amassed a £2.1billion fortune after taking over a struggling Blackpool based grocery chain in 2004 and turning B&M into a bargain bazaar worth more than Sainsbury’s and twice that of Marks & Spencer.

Simon Arora, 50, said the firm had created 1,800 jobs over the past six months and had repaid £3.7million in furlough cash claimed at the height of the crisis.

He added: “Our combination of everyday value across a broad range of product categories and convenient out of town locations has proved popular with shoppers.”

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