B&M’s CFO has told the board he will step down, after a £7m accounting error forced the company to downgrade its profit guidance for the 2026 financial year.
Mike Schmidt, chief financial officer and former interim CEO, will step aside once the company has found a successor, and the board will commission a “comprehensive third-party review”. The board said it “wished him well”.
The blow to B&M’s top team has come just weeks after new CEO Tjeerd Jegen launched a “decisive plan” to find growth and renew investors’ faith in the ailing business. Shares are at a near-record low of 217.6p, down 39% so far in 2025.
The accounting error came about after approximately £7m of overseas freight costs were incorrectly identified in the cost of goods sold, following an operating system update earlier in the year. While the issue has been resolved, B&M has had to downgrade its outlook for group adjusted EBITDA to £470m-£520m for FY2026, compared to the previous estimate of £510m-£560m.
The company’s life-for-like sales will be the principal determinant of where B&M UK’s EBITDA outcome falls within this range. B&M has reaffirmed its assumption of a second-half like-for-like percentage growth rate of “between low-single-digit negative and low-single-digit positive levels”.
“Just when it looked as if life couldn’t get any worse for B&M, along comes an accounting error which has ultimately cost the finance boss his job. The situation is highly embarrassing for the board and even worse for shareholders,” said AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.
“Failing to recognise £7m of freight costs is a major mistake and suggests that the business has poor financial controls. It’s inevitable investors will now start to question if other accounting mistakes have been made.
“The fact a £7m cost issue has led to a £40m downgrade to earnings guidance would suggest B&M’s margins are skinnier than some might have thought.”
Group adjusted EBITDA in H1 will be approximately £191m, compared to previous guidance of £198m.
B&M said it would provide a further update to the accounting error on 13 November alongside its interim results.
At the start of October B&M revealed EBITDA had sunk to an estimated £198m – now expected to be £191m – in the 26 weeks to 27 September, down from £274m in the same period a year ago. UK like-for-like sales returned to growth in Q1 2026 after falling for four consecutive quarters in FY2025.
The company’s ‘Back to B&M Basics’ business plan, announced alongside the results, will focus on cutting prices, refocusing its ranges and ensuring strong product availability in stores
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