Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Hotter than expected weather and a revival of demand in the Middle East and Northern Europe helped Next drive second quarter full-price sales growth close to double digit territory. Internet sales did the heavy lifting, but in-store sales are stabilising falling just 0.2% after a 3.4% drop in the first quarter. The smaller international operation which is online only accelerated to 36.9%.
The marketing engine has also moved up a gear giving the board confidence to maintain second half sales guidance of a 5% increase and nudge up profit guidance by £25 million. Upgrades are becoming par for the course when it comes to Next’s market updates, but with £15 million of today’s uplift already banked there could be more to come.”
Notes to Editors
HL is the UK’s largest investment and savings platform for private investors and more than 2.2 million clients trust us with £205 billion (as of June 2026).
We help Britain build wealth, with confidence. Our promise is simple: to provide the best products, the best support and the best value. Founded in 1981, we’ve been helping people save and invest for a better financial future for more than four decades. We offer a lifelong, secure home for our clients’ investments and savings, combining great value with outstanding service, to make managing your money easier at every stage of life.
Our award-winning Savings & Resilience Barometer measures the nation’s financial resilience across our 5 to Thrive pillars, equipping people with the tools they need to strengthen their financial futures.
Saving and investing is for the whole family, and to support intergenerational wealth transfer, we’ve removed all platform charges and share dealing fees on our Junior ISA, meaning kids go free, and we’ve reduced the platform fee on our Lifetime ISA to 0.25%, supporting those savings for their first home or for retirement.
Regular saving into all funds, FTSE 350 shares, and selected investment trusts and ETFs is free.
Our clients also have access to the most comprehensive pension and retirement solution, including SIPP accounts, SIPP Income Drawdown, UFPLS payments and annuities, as well as over 14,000 investment options across funds, shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts.
HL Active Savings is the UK's largest retail cash savings platform that lets savers easily make more of their money and the HL Cash ISA allows savers to manage their Cash ISA portfolio across multiple banks, all within one account.