Brexit puts spoke in Halfords’ wheel

Halfords has blamed Brexit for hiking its bike prices.

The cycle chain, which buys much of its stock in dollars, said the weak pound since last year’s EU referendum added £15million to costs in the six months to October. The firm clawed it back by increasing some bike prices – a blow to those buying them for Christmas.

Price rises allowed Halfords to rake in 7% extra from cycle sales although the number of bikes sold fell.

Sales of motoring-related products rose 1.9% in the six months. Halfords said it benefited from the average age of cars on the road rising to eight years since 2006.

But shares in Halfords tanked 6.6% yesterday after it revealed half-year profits fell 6.4% to £36.6m.

Profits at the airline Flybe nearly halved after it was hit by higher than expected aircraft maintenance and IT costs. The firm, which issued a profit warning last month, made £8.4million for the six months to September 30.