Timpson family takes £12.8m dividend after lockdown effect recedes

Demand resurfaces for dry cleaning, watch repairs and key cutting, though shoe repair remains out of favour

The Timpson family paid themselves a 12.8m dividend last year as dry cleaning, key cutting, watch repairs and photo processing bounced back at the high street stalwart after pandemic lockdowns - but shoe mending sales remained downtrodden.

The family-owned Timpson Group includes Snappy Snaps, Johnsons dry cleaners and a small group of pubs alongside its namesake shoe-repair and key-cutting business. It doubled comparable profits to 36.5m in the year to 1 October 2022 and sales rose to 297.4m, up about 40%.