FINANCE B&M brothers’ £100m windfall

BOSSES QUIDS IN AFTER COVID SALES SURGE

THE billionaire brothers behind budget chain B&M have netted nearly £100million after a surge in sales during the Covid-19 crisis.

Mega- wealthy Simon and nd Bobby Arora were among the big g winners after B& M’s parent company ompany announced another £200m m special dividend yesterday, because se it has more cash than it knows what at to do with.

Almost £30m of that is set to go to the Arora’s Luxembourg-based family trust, SSA Investments, which owns 15% of the business.

It is the third special dividend since last March, totalling £600m. Along with a half- year dividend, the Arora family will have taken almost £ 100m worth of windfalls.

B& M has seen trade rocket while other retailers have suffered in the pandemic. As an essential store it could remain open. Parent company B&M European Value Retail y yesterday y announced a 22.5% leap in sales from the end of September to Boxing Day. It opened 16 1 new stores in the three month months, creating 500 jobs, with another 18 1 planned by March. Chief executive exe Simon Arora, 51, yes yesterday announced 30,000 staff would get an extra week’s pay “in recognition of their considerable erable efforts”.

He and trading director Bobby Bobby, 49, took over a lossmaking maki Blackpool-based groce grocery chain in 2004 and turn turned B& M into a boo booming bargain bazaar. Y Younger brother Ro Robin, 36, joined in 200 2008. The family is said to be worth £2.1billion.