Office reports profit rise

High-street shoe chain Office has reported a leap in profits by more than 20% in the first year since Scottish business tycoon Tom Hunter took over the company. The company announced a increase in sales to GBP33.5 million, up from GBP25.7 in the same period last year.

Office, which employs 383 staff across the UK, saw pre-tax profits swell to GBP 2.5 million from EBG 2.05 million the year before. Prior to the GBP 15 million takeover in early 2003 by Hunter, Office opened one or two shops a year. Under his leadership, the retailer is preparing a portfolio of approximately 80 stores. During the first 12 months of Hunter's reign, the group opened seven new places of business, taking the current portfolio to 30 stores. A further 10 stores opened this year.

The management team, spearheaded by chief executive, Richard Wharton, continues to build the brand's presence and see profits grow. Wharton is also involved in expanding Office's sister brand, Oube, which is poised on the threshold of a major expansion plan. With a GBP40 million injection, the brand is to grow into a150 store chain. Wharton was very optimistic about the future of the brand, reporting that the new shops had been trading according to expectations.

The entire management team, including Wharton, will receive a piece of the GBP1.12 million pie in the form of a GBP45.79 per share dividend pay-out. Hunter himself does not receive a salary from Office, preferring to reinvest his earnings into his investment company West Coast Capital, which owns Office.